Jean F. East

Race and Ethnicity as Moderators of Neighborhood Bonding Social Capital: Effects on Employment Outcomes for Families Living in Low-Income Neighborhoods

The concept of social capital is being applied to community-based antipoverty programs across the country. Despite its increased presence in program theory research on the process and effects of social capital are lacking. This study tests the direct and moderating relationships between race and ethnicity informal neighborhood bonding social capital, and poverty on employment for households in low-income urban neighborhoods. Findings reveal a direct and inverse relationship between informal neighborhood bonding social capital and employment, suggesting that social capital is not a cure-all for families living in low-income neighborhoods. Implications for social workers include carefully considering the types of social capital used in program theory and practice, and whether the specific types of social capital are appropriate for intended program outcomes.

Courage to Teach for Social Work Educators

Teaching social work is a science, an art form and a passion. Within that context, the purpose of this article is to explore teaching as a science/art, and to integrate the work of Parker Palmer into the scholarship of teaching and learning for social work education. Using the narratives of two ‘still learning’ social work educators, Palmers work will be described and its application experiences shared. The article concludes by making a link between Palmers ideas and social work education.

Empowerment Through Welfare-Rights Organizing: A Feminist Perspective

This article describes a community-based welfare reform-welfare rights organizing coalition that is based on a feminist empowerment model of practice. The experiences of women who have participated in the coalition are highlighted, and suggested courses of action for organizing such coalitions are proposed.

Developing Reflective Judgment Through MSW Education

Abstract Discussion of the nature of critical thinking and the ways in which it can be enhanced has increased in recent years among social work educators, and yet little is known about the impact of MSW education on the critical thinking of students. This paper examines the nature of critical thinking, presents an adult cognitive developmental model, the Reflective Judgment Model (King & Kitchener, 1994), which holds promise for enlarging social works understanding of critical thinking and examines approaches to teaching which enhance critical thinking. The Reflective Judgment Model focuses on the development of assumptions about knowledge and the process of knowing as development occurs through adulthood. Specific implications for creating classroom and field learning environments are detailed, including characteristics of effective teachers and of effective assignments.

I Was Scared Every Day

Abstract This qualitative study explores the personal challenges and the adjustments to the TANF requirements experienced by a sample of 21 ethnically diverse women who were TANF recipients in an urban western metropolitan area. As other research has found, personal challenges for those on TANF, such as domestic violence, mental health and health problems and learning disabilities are prevalent and create barriers to employment. This study identifies the complexity of the relationship between personal challenges and the work first TANF policy environment. Five policy recommendations that can be implemented at the state and local level are proposed.

African Women Refugee Resettlement: A Womanist Analysis

In considering forced migration as a consequence of global conflict, women with refugee status are especially vulnerable. The influx of refugees into the United States, in this case, refugees from Africa, requires us to examine various aspects of what it means to be a refugee. Drawing upon current and extant literature, this article investigates the challenges faced by women refugees from Africa. A womanist framework is described and applied to four areas of resettlement experience including gendered expectations, trauma and mental health, economic self-sufficiency, and cultural integration. In addition, the policy assumptions of the Refugee Act of 1980 are contrasted with the realities and experiences of women refugees from Africa. Implications for social work practice, policy advocacy, and research are discussed.

The Benefits of Including Engaged Residents and Professionals in Low-Income Neighborhood Redevelopment Planning Processes

A qualitative case study of two urban neighborhood-planning processes contributes to knowledge regarding citizen participation in the context of public housing redevelopment. The data were collected and triangulated from multiple sources including participant observation, field notes, artifacts, and 24 hours of semistructured interview data (n = 26). Data provided context for understanding engaged residents’ and professionals’ experience of participation in a Resident Advisory Council (RAC) and influence during neighborhood redevelopment planning. Study participants reported the benefits of inclusion in the RAC community planning process including: (a) being engaged by attending meetings and dialoging, (b) maintaining and building relationships, and (c) maintaining organizing pressure and fighting back.

Financially Vulnerable Families and the Child Care Cliff Effect

For many families, child care is a necessity for economic self-sufficiency, as without it caretakers cannot enter and stay in the workforce. However, for many low-income families, child care expenses are so high that they often cannot afford it without government support. Also problematic is that government-supported child care benefits are incrementally lost as a family’s income increases, but often before sufficient income can be sustained to replace that support. This is known as the child care cliff. The focus of this study was to understand how families make decisions about child care and government support when facing this cliff. This article details a mixed-methods study that revealed that families use a combination of resources to make up their income package that they need to manage everyday survival, including government benefits, wages, and social supports. Also, though the cliff effect is a significant barrier to moving from government supports to self-sufficiency, there are multiple other barriers that add to the very real reasons that families have to carefully strategize to survive. The most helpful things for families in strategizing were a flexible job and solid social support networks.

Child Care as a Work Support A Socialist Feminist Policy Analysis

Research has shown that welfare policy plays a significant role in the subordination of women, and with each new policy iteration, it is important to continue to expose the way in which policy intentionally or unintentionally places women at a disadvantage. Using a socialist feminist framework, this article explores child care as a work-support benefit and the realities of the lived experience of those who receive child care subsidies. This policy is examined for its role in subordinating women as they attempt to navigate both work and family responsibilities while trying to move toward financial independence.