Abstract
This article examines poverty and welfare in terms of public policy in the United States. The writer looks at the causes of poverty. The purpose of public welfare policies are discussed in this paper. The writer argues that the working poor should receive more in child care, training and transportation.

From the Paper
"Some eight years ago, Americans ended welfare as they knew it. To judge from their silence on the subject during the election they have never looked back. In his book titled 'American Dream Three Women Ten Kids and a Nation's Drive to End Welfare' Jason DeParle commented that welfare is a subject filled with biases and argued the harshness of the low-wage economy and the turmoil of poor people's lives required a federal safety net not one torn by ... "

Tags:poverty, public policy, welfare

Abstract
The paper researches the sociology of poverty and welfare. The paper identifies the conflict and individualistic and cultural perspectives in poverty and welfare, gives a description of six sociological explanations relating to the two identified perspectives of poverty and welfare, and evaluates three of the sociological explanations. Further, this paper gives a description of at least eight sociological studies of welfare and poverty, with at least four representing the different sociological perspectives, as well as four evaluations of the sociological studies. Finally, this paper provides a description of four main constraints, which could affect the work of sociologists in their study of welfare and poverty.

Statement of Thesis
Review of Literature
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper
"Defining elements in culture are those of language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that are passed through generation to generation. Further culture can be separated into subgroups of material culture and nonmaterial culture. Components within a culture are inclusive of symbols, gestures, language, values, norms and sanctions, folkways and mores." Those who participate in social research or sociologists place their reliance on three main theoretical frameworks which are symbolic intereactionism which is defined in the focus on languaging and human relationship elements in intimate group settings which gives emphasis to the construction and communication by the individual through use of symbols or micro-analysis. In the thinking of today there is little disagreement that there is not an existence of a definitive in poverty that is "the" end-all in relating the meaning of the existence demonstrating the meaning of poverty. Globalization is new in the theorem arena in relation to reflect on poverty. The studies that are recent in relation to: "globalization, regionalization and their local manifestation in 'globalization' revealed an extraordinary variety of micro-social" causal factors and reasons within the framework of social processes and consequences that are of a broader nature."

Tags:functional, analysis, contribution, stability, conflict, theory, inequalities, struggle, control, resources

Abstract
While we live in a time of apparently unprecedented prosperity, although, admittedly, a recession may occur in the immediate future, we also live in an era defined by government cutbacks in areas of social welfare. This apparent policy paradox of great prosperity coexisting with extreme conservatism in budgetary policy will be the focus of this essay. It will argue that the explanation for this "paradox" lies, not in finance or economics, but in the fragmented social dynamic of our society. In this analysis, poverty will be shown to be as much a political as an economic construct. However, the prevailing political orthodoxy with respect to poverty and social spending is not likely to change, it will be argued, until economic despair grips a large portion of the population.

Abstract
The paper studies how society decided that the poor should do something about their situation, they did not need to live on welfare and they should get jobs. Thus, in 1996 a welfare reform was introduced in the U.S. that came under the name of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, suggesting that the welfare provided to the poor in the nation would be temporary. The behavior of the individuals would be monitored until such a time when they changed their behavior and got jobs to support themselves. This paper studies the predictive impact of the welfare reform that took place on the poor of the urban areas and the associated factors.

From the Paper
"Most of the jobs into which welfare recipients are being pushed, while good enough for teenagers living at home with working parents, are not of much help to heads of households. Thus, not surprisingly, several studies have shown that inner-city residents cannot increase their households' incomes by taking suburban jobs.(6) Of course, a bad job is often better than no job. PRWORA, however, is not a jobs policy: it does not create new jobs. It simply assumes, in the absence of any evidence, that people will find work because they are being forced to do so. This presumption arose, in part, because of the modest success of many micro-level welfare-to-work programs that states have piloted during the past five years.(7)"

Tags:Aid, Families, Dependent, Children, Personal, Responsibility, Work, Opportunity, Reconciliation, Act, 1996, PRWORA

Abstract
This paper looks at how, as the people living below the poverty line increases, so does the percentage of women. It argues that social welfare programs continue to be needed to address the feminization of poverty. The first part of the paper examines key indicators of this "feminization," including the salary gap between men and women and other indicators of women's "economic well-being." The next part then looks at the arguments of welfare reform proponents, who cite the need to move low-income women with children from receiving welfare to gainful employment. The last part of this paper argues that welfare reforms are misguided, since many circumstances in addition to lack of motivation contribute to the inability of many women to "work their way out of poverty." Welfare reform programs that fail to address these needs will thus only result in more poverty for society, in general, and for women, in particular.

From the Paper
"The welfare reform law placed strict time limits on how long families can receive the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). There was now a two-year limit on how long a family can continue to receive continuous welfare assistance. After this two year period, the adults were required to find employment. More importantly, there was also a five-year lifetime limit on how long the family can receive welfare assistance. If they go over this figure, families will no longer be eligible to receive federal aid. The change was further emphasized when the AFDC program was re-named Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF (Levinson, Reardon and Smith 1999)."

Tags:welfare, reform, aid, employment

Abstract
The paper looks at various studies on poverty and educational attainment gaps and on the major causes behind poverty and welfare dependency. The paper examines the significant role of the community and church in mitigating the negative effects of family poverty and discusses how members of the community, church and local health care providers can work to reduce teen pregnancies and children born out-of-wedlock and can ensure that children receive the medical treatment needed to reduce diseases and conditions that affect their cognitive function. The writer of this paper suggests that the church, community and local health care providers should seek grant funding to support these efforts.

Outline:
Introduction
Previous Studies on Poverty and Educational Attainment Gaps
Factors Identified as Causative
The Church and Community
Canada Reports Unique Opportunity of Pediatricians and Family Doctors
Summary and Conclusion

From the Paper
"The work of Danziger and Haveman entitled: "Understanding Poverty" states that childbearing by teens, children born out-of-wedlock and single parents are known to be "major causes of poverty and welfare dependency for women and their children." (2002, p142) However, there are other claims that it is not the deviant family structures but lack of resources that result in educational disadvantages of children from poverty level homes. According to Danziger and Haveman if it is not childhood poverty but instead disadvantages of parents that are "associated with or cause parental poverty and lead to negative associations between childhood poverty and childhood outcomes, then the policy solution is less obvious..." and a need exists to make identification of precisely what disadvantages of parents are causative in educational disadvantages to the children of poverty. Findings in this are show the following: (1) poor children average 1.4 fewer years of schooling than do nonpoor children, and they are three times as likely to have dropped out of high school; (2) poor girls are more than twice as likely to have had a teen birth and they are 2.6 times more likely to have had an out-of-wedlock birth than are nonpoor girls; and (3) poor boys work fewer hours per year, have lower hourly wages, have lower annual earnings and spend more weeks idle in their midtwenties than do nonpoor boys. (2002, p.159)"

Tags:teen, pregnancies, welfare, dependency, resources, funds

From the Paper
"Despite decades of social welfare programs, the federal government has largely failed in its War on Poverty. The failure of these programs has created a social deficit in which impoverished individuals are caught up in a dependency cycle on public assistance. Demographic changes, such as the high rate of teenaged pregnancy, have simultaneously contributed to the increase in the poor population in America and created a feminization of poverty.

Federal social welfare programs are designed to aid those individuals whose incomes fall below the poverty line. An estimated 30 million Americans live in poverty (Ford, 1989, p. 1). Federal programs have succeeded in contributing to a decrease in the number of elderly poor. Before President Johnson's War on Poverty in the 1960s, almost 30 percent of the..."

Abstract
This paper examines how most social workers, politicians and those of the general public who support the welfare state do so in part because they believe welfare programs help to reduce the rate of poverty. It looks at how a growing number of critics assert that such programs in fact fail to decrease poverty, because too small a share of transfers actually reaches the poor, or because such programs create a welfare/poverty trap, or because they weaken the economy. It proposes a study to assess the effects of social-welfare policy extensiveness on poverty rates.

Outline
Discussion
Pros of Raising Income Taxes to Redistribute Income to the Poor
Cons of Lowering Taxes and Reducing the Amount Available for Income Redistribution.
Pros of Reducing Income Taxes
Cons of Reducing Income Taxes
Proposals
Ways of Funding Social-Insurance (Welfare) Programs
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Reducing the amount of transfer payments ultimately will increase levels of both poverty and the maladies that are associated with it. Infant and child mortality, increased crime, lack of participation in society in general, and increased medical expenses born ultimately by society can all be the results of decrease social spending (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities web site). To quote a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: "Social insurance programs moved 1.4 million children out of poverty. Federal taxes, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, (EITC), lifted another one million children out of poverty. It is striking that taxes were nearly as effective as social insurance programs in moving children out of poverty because taxes alone would be expected to increase rather than reduce poverty."

Tags:poverty, income, redistribution, poor, economy

Abstract
The paper describes the child welfare crisis, that in the writer's opinion, is a result of the former Bush Administration's irresponsible economic policies and neglect of public agencies or outreach groups. The paper goes into detail to illustrate how America's response to the issues of poverty, violence and vulnerability to criminality, abuse and addiction has been a uniform failure. The paper looks at the current Obama administration and how it has pledged to improve the prospects of children raised by public welfare. The paper recommends major changes to improve child welfare agencies and combat the rampant poverty and despair.

From the Paper
"Today, with the United States in a circumstance of indefinite but costly military conflict while simultaneously operating on a budget that can be characterized by its emphasis on income tax cuts for corporations and wealthy private citizens, the troubling unemployment rate, the steady financial draw-down of all strata of social programs and the privatization of Social Security which President Bush had made priorities of his administration all suggested that the federal government was not treating poverty eradication as a top interest. Thus, during the last eight years, the United States has suffered considerably in such departments as child welfare. The accountability of locality, state and nation to help those least able to help themselves has been undermined by a diminishing availability of public resource and of public outreach. Though the newly inaugurated Obama administration enters with a host of promises relating to the improvement of conditions facing children without great personal means, it must fulfill these promises under the heavy thumb of an economic crisis that has sapped cities and states throughout the U.S. of the resources, personnel and agencies to effectively provide assistance where such is needed."

Tags:agencies, poverty, violence, criminality, abuse, addiction, Obama

Abstract
The premise of this paper is that the program of welfare reform has done more harm than good in the Dallas, Texas area. The purpose of welfare reform is to reduce the number of people in the United States that receive public assistance. The paper focuses on the effects that welfare reform has had on the children in the Dallas, Texas area and supports the hypothesis that a more comprehensive approach is more effective than programs in the past that only concentrated on one aspect of the problem. The paper concludes that addressing one aspect of the poverty problem does not represent long-term solutions. The culture of the neighborhood has to be changed before the problem can be effectively addressed.

Outline:
Scope of the Problem
Solutions for the Children
The problem of Housing
Welfare to Wwork
Conclusion
Works cited

From the Paper
"After the implementation welfare reform, poverty in the Dallas area grew to almost 2% of the nearly 632,676 families living in the Dallas area (Appleton, 1A). One must remember that this number only reflects the number of families, and does not tell us anything about the number of children and its effects on them. Over the past ten years and the number of persons living below the poverty line in the Dallas area has grown by over 17% (Appleton, 1A). Welfare reform did have an effect of reducing the number of households on public assistance from 4% in 1990 to 2% in 2002 (Appleton, 1A). However, it did nothing to reduce the number of persons actually living below the poverty line. For some it made this situation worse because they were still below the poverty line, only now they had fewer means of support."

Tags:gautreaux, pta, annie, e., casey, foundation, distressed, neighborhoods, poverty, ocbf, lower, income