Living on the Edge in Suburbia

Terese Lawinski

Description

Westchester County, New York, is thought of as suburban and affluent, but welfare reform hit hard here, too. The radical 1996 legislation created a temporary assistance program for poor families with harsher provisions than the program it replaced. It mandates "workfare," meaning that recipients must work as a condition of benefit receipt. But the work parents obtain in the so-called flexible labor market--jobs like home health care aide--are inflexible for them. One sick child can mean the loss of a job.
In contrast to accounts of inner-city poor families, these suburban parents' stories reveal a broad array of precipitating circumstances leading to their downward economic slide and to welfare. They also provide insight into the bureaucratic machinations, rigid rules and mandates, disciplining techniques, and catch-22s that create an insecure environment for many families today. Many of these stories show that the need for welfare over time extends well beyond the federal government's five-year lifetime limit on welfare. Policies emphasizing work first also restrict access to education and further hinder parents' ability to gain a toehold in the economy.
In this tale of people and policies, the author shows how the interests of governments are often at variance with those of vulnerable families, and how some government actions place more pressure on lives replete with stress.

Sujets

• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Sociology
• Industrial relations
• Politics
• Education
• Anthropology

Informations

• Publié par: Vanderbilt University Press
• Date de parution: 09 juillet 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780826517012
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THEEDGE TERESE LAWINSKI

IVINGON L IN SUBURBIA F R O M W E L F A R E T O W O R K F A R E

Living on the Edge in Suburbia

Living on the Edge in Suburbia From Welfare to Workfare

Terese Lawinski

Vanderbilt University Press Nashville

© 2010 by Vanderbilt University Press Nashville, Tennessee 37235 All rights reserved First printing 2010

His book is printed on acid-free paper.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lawinski, Terese. Living on the edge in suburbia : from welfare to workfare / Terese Lawinski. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8265-1699-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8265-1700-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Public welfare—New York (State)—Westchester County. 2. Welfare recipients—New York (State)—Westchester County— Case studies. 3. Welfare recipients—Employment— New York (State)—Westchester County—Case studies. 4. Suburbanites—New York (State)—Westchester County— Economic conditions—Case studies. I. Title. V99.W45L39 2010 362.5’8409747277—dc22 2009028792

In memory of my parents, Teresa and Victor Lawinski, and brother, J Russell Law

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Contents

Acknowledgments  ix

Abbreviations  xi

Introduction  1

Living on the Edge in Suburbia  11

FromWelfaretoWorkfare  23

HeBusinessofWelfare  35

FamilyNeedsversusWelfareLimits  68

Insecurity and Inexibility of “Flexible” Labor  89

Work First, Workfare, and Education  126

Divergent Interests  150

Epilogue: A New Era—A Global Economic Crisis and the Obama Administration  163

Notes  169

Bibliography  179

Index  189

Acknowledgments

My relationship with Westchester County began in  shortly after I met Steve Sullivan, when he picked me up from the train station and took me on a sunset driving tour of the village that I would move to a year later. Hat evening I did not see the poverty in the cities, nor did I imagine that I would come to study poverty in this wealthy county îfteen years hence. My life took twists and turns, as did the lives of the people I came to know who were living close to the edge or below poverty level, as well as those who lived comfortably but experienced a înancial downturn. I thank all the women and men who participated in the research upon which this book is based; to protect their identities I do not acknowledge them by name. I am deeply indebted to all the parents who told me about the ups and downs of home life and their experiences at welfare oïces and work. I thank the service providers who shared knowledge and who helped with the logistical aspects of recruitment and interviewing. I also thank the people who were not formally research participants but from whom I learned much about issues related to poverty and the social ser- vices terrain. I express gratitude to the advocates who alerted and invited me to assorted meetings where I learned about current political and policy matters.  I extend a deeply felt thank-you to Ida Susser for her guidance, encour- agement, and unwavering support over many years and for her intellectual insights that helped shape my research and writing. Shirley Lindenbaum’s theoretical insights and practical advice energized me. I beneîted greatly from Louise Lennihan’s enthusiasm for my work. Louise Lamphere’s vote of conîdence was extremely important to me, and I am especially thank- ful to her for referring my work to Michael Ames at Vanderbilt University Press.

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