Expanding Work Programs for Poor Men

by Mead, Lawrence M.

• ISBN13: 9780844743974
• ISBN10: 0844743976
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-16
• Publisher: AEI PRESS

Summary

Welfare reform, which required that poor mothers work in return for assistance, was a watershed in the struggle against poverty in America. As work levels rose dramatically among low-income women, the welfare rolls were cut in half and many families escaped poverty. But men's employment is also crucial to uplifting families. Programs designed to promote work among poor men are currently underdeveloped and little understood by policymakers. Expanding Work Programs for Poor Men sets out a strategy for raising work levels among poor men. It makes the case that poor fathers, like welfare mothers, need ôboth help and hassle.ö That is, they need better benefits, but they must also be expected-and required-to help themselves.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. viii
List of Tables	p. ix
Commonly Used Acronyms	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
Poverty and Work	p. 2
Misconceptions	p. 5
A Look Ahead	p. 6
Poor Men's Work Problems	p. 8
Poor Men and Work	p. 8
Nonwork and Other Problems	p. 10
Work as Strategic	p. 11
Key Groups	p. 13
Causes of Nonwork	p. 14
Approaches to Nonwork	p. 14
Benefit-Oriented Programs	p. 24
The Need for Structure	p. 27
Conclusion	p. 31
Child Support Enforcement	p. 33
Improving Enforcement	p. 34
Approaches to Enforcement	p. 38
Enforcement Programs	p. 40
Fatherhood Programs	p. 43
Evaluations	p. 45
Conclusion	p. 49
Criminal Justice	p. 51
Responses to Crime	p. 51
The Appeal to Community	p. 54
Prison Reentry Programs	p. 56
Service-Oriented Programs	p. 59
Evaluations	p. 60
Conclusion	p. 64
Implementing Programs	p. 66
Past Research	p. 66
Getting to Scale	p. 67
The Implementation Problem	p. 70
Child Support Enforcement	p. 71
Criminal Justice	p. 75
Past Programs	p. 77
The State Survey	p. 78
Findings	p. 79
Trends over Time	p. 80
Field Interviews	p. 81
The View from the Field	p. 82
State Variations	p. 83
Explaining State Differences	p. 87
Conclusion	p. 94
Recommendations	p. 96
Desirable Features	p. 96
Costs	p. 102
Unresolved Issues	p. 104
The Benefit Side	p. 107
Men for Themselves	p. 109
National Policy	p. 111
Funding	p. 111
Evaluation	p. 114
The Benefit Side	p. 116
The Need for Vision	p. 116
Appendix: Method	p. 118
The State Survey	p. 118
Field Interviews	p. 121
Notes	p. 127
Index	p. 145
About the Author	p. 155
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