Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


ROOT dissertationx.pdf (573.93 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

SITUATIONAL AND GENERATIONAL WELFARE USE: PROGRAM MANAGERS’ IDENTITIES AND WELFARE IMPLEMENTATION IN OHIO

Root, Kaitlyn
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron15905942786473

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, Sociology.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA), passed in 1996, was notably referred to by the US Chamber of Commerce as a “reassertion of America’s work ethic.” The stated goal of PRWORA was that clients should leave welfare self-sufficient and the focus on self-sufficiency allowed welfare bureaucrats to shift the blame from the program’s failings to clients. What self-sufficiency is and how to best achieve it however, was not clearly indicated by the language of PRWORA. PRWORA also allowed for states to have greater discretion over how funding is allocated and at the county level, street level bureaucrats such as welfare-to-work program managers are responsible for implementation of the program’s provisions. Because of the influence that program managers have over the implementation of cash assistance in their counties, it is useful to examine what approaches managers use in their daily interactions with case workers and clients. In my dissertation research, I use a series of worker typologies developed by Watkins-Hayes (2009) and Taylor and Seale (2013) as a lens through which to examine Ohio Works First (OWF) program managers. Through these typologies – the Social Work manager, Efficiency Engineer manager and Conflicted manager – I explore how managers interpret and implement cash assistance after welfare reform, their discourse surrounding clients culture of poverty and generational welfare use and how managers talk about shame, pride and the stigma of welfare among their clients. I build on previous literature about welfare bureaucrats by focusing on program managers who have a unique position within the cash assistance delivery system in that they are expected to prioritize the goals of welfare reform. This analysis allows us to better understand how managers professional identities shape their approach to implementation of welfare reform and how managers come to understand what their role is within the system.
Tiffany Taylor, (Committee Chair)
Kathy Feltey, (Committee Member)
Kamesha Spates, (Committee Member)
Daniela Jauk, (Committee Member)
Mary Triece, (Committee Member)
130 p.
Sociology; Welfare
cash assistance; welfare; manager identities; welfare stigma

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Root, K. (2020). SITUATIONAL AND GENERATIONAL WELFARE USE: PROGRAM MANAGERS’ IDENTITIES AND WELFARE IMPLEMENTATION IN OHIO [Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron15905942786473

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Root, Kaitlyn. SITUATIONAL AND GENERATIONAL WELFARE USE: PROGRAM MANAGERS’ IDENTITIES AND WELFARE IMPLEMENTATION IN OHIO. 2020. University of Akron, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron15905942786473.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Root, Kaitlyn. "SITUATIONAL AND GENERATIONAL WELFARE USE: PROGRAM MANAGERS’ IDENTITIES AND WELFARE IMPLEMENTATION IN OHIO." Doctoral dissertation, University of Akron, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron15905942786473

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

akron15905942786473
490
© 2020, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Akron and OhioLINK.