Shut Out: Low Income Mothers and Higher Education in Post-Welfare America

by Polakow, Valerie; Butler, Sandra S.; Deprez, Luisa Stormer; Kahn, Peggy

• ISBN13: 9780791461266
• ISBN10: 0791461262
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

"Shut Out exposes in vivid detail the economic, educational, and existential struggles that poor single mothers confront in light of current Welfare-to-Work policies. According to the editors, these mandates strip women of their educational rights by denying them access to higher education, thus obstructing their aspirations to exit poverty and attain family self-sufficiency. The editors examine the requirements of the 1996 "welfare reform" bill and outline how states have varied in responses to limited post-secondary options within the framework of national legislation. The book shows how mothers and their allies have organized collectively to try to secure pro-education policies, and how individuals have resisted work, developed individual and family strategies, and triumphed in their pursuit of post-secondary education under extreme social and emotional duress. In outlining the multiple obstacles and policy restrictions that low income women face, the book also demonstrates successful programsthat afford women educational opportunities. Included are the latest in legislative updates, policy and advocacy recommendations, and possible future directions.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(202)
Peggy Kahn, Sandra S. Butler, Luisa Stormer Deprez, and Valerie Polakow
1. Debunking the Myth of the Failure of Education and Training for Welfare Recipients: A Critique of the Research	19	(26)
Erika Kates
2. Failing Low Income Students: Education and Training in the Age of Welfare Reform	45	(30)
Lizzy Ratner
3. "That's Not How I Want to Live": Student Mothers Fight to Stay in School under Michigan's Welfare-to-Work Regime	75	(22)
Peggy Kahn and Valerie Polakow
4. Connecting and Reconnecting to Work: Low Income Mothers' Participation in Publicly Funded Training Programs	97	(18)
Frances J. Riemer
5. Supporting or Blocking Educational Progress? The Impact of College Policies, Programs, and Practices on Low Income Single Mothers	115	(14)
Sally Sharp
6. Student Financial Aid and Low Income Mothers	129	(20)
Donald E. Heller and Stefani A. Bjorklund
7. Credentials Count: How California's Community Colleges Help Parents Move from Welfare to Self-Sufficiency	149	(22)
Anita K. Mathur with Judy Reichle, Julie Strawn, and Chuck Wiseley
8. "This Little Light of Mine": Parent Activists Struggling for Access to Post-Secondary Education in Appalachian Kentucky	171	(18)
Christiana Miewald
9. College Access and Leadership-Building for Low Income Women: Boston's Women in Community Development (WICD)	189	(14)
Deborah Clarke and Lynn Peterson
10. Transcending Welfare: Creating a GI Bill for Working Families	203	(14)
Julie L. Watts and Aiko Schaefer
11. Securing Higher Education for Women on Welfare in Maine	217	(20)
Luisa Stormer Deprez, Sandra S. Butler, and Rebekah J. Smith
Afterword	237	(4)
The Editors
List of Contributors	241	(6)
Index	247