Kameri Christy-McMullin

Arkansas IDA Programs: Examining Asset Retention and Perceptions of Well-Being

ABSTRACT As the antipoverty initiative known as Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) enters into its second decade of implementation, research needs to examine social policy and program outcomes for both IDA participants and their communities. This pilot study examined the asset retention rate of 85 graduates from three Arkansas IDA programs; the relationship between household assets and economic strain, self-efficacy, and future orientation; and whether the duration of asset ownership had an effect on well-being. Findings indicate that the majority of IDA program graduates were likely to maintain that asset at follow-up (range = 6–36 months). Differences were found based on the asset purchased, with homeowners more likely and small business owners less likely to report higher rates of well-being at follow-up. Implications of these findings include the need to provide support for practitioners to obtain funding for IDA programs and to include information and resources for those starting their own business to help safeguard against potential stressors.

The Role of Economic Resources and Human Capital with Woman Abuse

Abstract This study expands on current knowledge by examining the relationships among household economic resources, human capital, and various types of woman abuse. Logistic regression analyses were performed with a subsample from the 1999 National Crime Victimizaxtion Survey that includes Black, Hispanic, and White abused and non-abused women. Findings indicate that economic variables have divergent relationships with different types of woman abuse. For example, housing tenure is related to physical abuse, and lower levels of human capital are more highly correlated with physical abuse. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Multi-Systems Life Course: A New Practice Perspective and Its Application in Advanced Practice With Racial and Ethnic Populations

To better respond to social works directive of increased sensitivity to cultural and ethnic diversity, it is imperative that theory development includes explicit consideration of the complex experiences of racial and ethnic minorities. For a more advanced and culturally relative practice, the authors posit the development of an encompassing perspective referred to as multi-systems life course (MSLC). Using a case example, this article applies a MSLC perspective to practice with women of color experiencing intimate partner violence. Implications for social work practice and an overview on incorporating a MSLC perspective into a graduate social work curriculum are included.

Savings Experiences Past and Present: Narratives From Low-Income African American Women

Research has found that low-income individuals can and do save when institutional supports are in place; however, little structured data are available on how and why they manage to save. This article presents a study of the long-term savings experiences of 9 low-income African American women who were participating in an Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program in a city in North Carolina. The results indicated that despite many markers of disadvantage, low-income African American women use various strategies to save money for developing their assets. These findings can inform policy, practice, and research by increasing knowledge of facilitators of and barriers to the development of assets among the poor.

Joining an Asset Building Program

Abstract United States anti-poverty efforts traditionally consist of income-based, means-tested policies while wealth promotion generally involves tax code initiatives. Long-established beliefs that underserved populations cannot save money have resulted in exclusionary asset building policies for the poor. Minimal changes in pre-transfer poverty rates have led social workers to examine alternative anti-poverty solutions. This study examined the effects of an Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program on social and economic well-being. Findings suggest that individuals do save when institutional structures are in place and that perceptions of economic strain decrease as savings increase. Implications for future policy, practice, and research are discussed.

Asset-Building Policies and Safety for Women

Abstract While the importance of equitable income distribution is well-documented in the literature, this author considers the additional role assets might play in assisting women with achieving long-term economic security, as well as increasing their level of safety. Integrating feminist and exchange theories with asset-building theory provides a more inclusive model for conceptualizing the interrelatedness of economic resources, race/ethnicity, and woman abuse. This model allows us to stretch current ways of thinking about these issues in order to create and evaluate public policies that might play an important role in redressing the economic inequities abused women frequently experience.

An Evidenced-Based Approach to a Theoretical Understanding of the Relationship Between Economic Resources, Race/Ethnicity, and Woman Abuse

Abstract Within the context of advocating for evidence-based practice in the field of social work, the need also exists to test or systematically review studies that support or refute theories used in social work practice. The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic review of domestic and international studies that examine the relationship between economic resources, race and ethnicity, and woman abuse. Findings of these studies are connected to their implications for exchange, feminist and asset-building theories. Lamentably, few studies include race or ethnicity. While the use of divergent measures for economic resources and woman abuse result in mixed findings, one consistent finding is that economic assets are negatively related to woman abuse.

Second-Generation Individual Development Account Research: Preliminary Findings

Historically, the poor have been excluded from asset-building policies, and consequently have accumulated very little wealth. The discrepancy between those with the highest incomes and those with the lowest continues to widen dramatically, with little hope of change unless asset-building polices are created to include the poor. Not only is this an issue of economic inequity, but of social and personal inequities as well. This paper describes the first year of a bi-state, longitudinal study that compares and contrasts specific measures of well-being between participants in Individual Development Account programs and low-income and low-wealth individuals who are not participating in an Individual Development Account program.

Welfare Reform in Persistent Rural Poverty: Dreams, Disenchantments, and Diversity

Pickering, Harvey, Summers, and Mushinski provide an important and interesting read, illuminating the experiences and struggles of large segments within the United States that are often excluded for consideration by policymakers and the general public. They present vital data on the well-being of low-income rural children and families in the midst of the devolution of public assistance. In Welfare Reform in Persistent Rural Poverty: Dreams, Disenchantments, and Diversity, the authors select two counties in four very different geographic regions settled by a disparate populace. They introduce us to Native Americans in South Dakota, whites in Appalachian Kentucky, Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and African Americans in the alluvial plain of the Mississippi Delta. While distinctive from each other, the individuals from all eight counties in this monograph have experienced an extensive history of marginalization and exploitation, and not coincidently, deep and pervasive poverty. Pickering and colleagues make a well-researched and well-articulated argument that the personal, economic, and social context of individuals, as well as groups of individuals, needs to be addressed when critiquing public policy. Where legislators, both Republican and Democrat, typically alternate between either blatantly ignoring or vilifying the poor, it is refreshing to read a strengths and resiliency-based presentation of the lives, hopes, and struggles of representatives from these groups. The authors present a thorough and thoughtful treatment of such a contextually rich issue by using “what the people told us” (current and former Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF] recipients; directors and personnel of tribal, local, state and federal government agencies and private businesses) to help provide a better understanding of “what the numbers told us.” This strategic use of mixed research methodology assists the reader with insight into the complexities regarding the implementation and outcomes of the 104th Congress and President Clinton’s goal of “ending welfare as we know it.” In order to better grasp the political and economic background of the stakeholders in this inquiry, Pickering and colleagues provide a detailed explanation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, with specific focus on TANF. Their comprehensive analysis includes each of the eight counties and four states, as well as comparisons between the counties and states. Their concise historical overview of each population included in this study adds to the reader’s discernment of the unique dynamics and circumstances experienced by those groups. The two consistently identified dreams of current and former TANF recipients were simply (1) steady employment and (2) providing a better future for their children. However, with some exception in Kentucky, these hopes were not realized by the participants in this study. The suggestion made by Pickering and colleagues that the differences in Kentucky can be attributed to the role race and ethnicity play in state policymaking has merit. The findings indicate that historic and current inequalities and biases that exist in these regions are often reinforced via the administration of TANF. The authors observe that since TANF allows for more local-level discretion, the potential for discrimination actually increased. Race, class, and social networks were strongly related to the distribution of TANF resources. Their conclusion that devolution has resulted in the transfer of federal funds to “local elites,” which serves to further the power and economic disparity between groups who have been viewed as worthy and unworthy, is well-supported. As the authors assert early on in their book, “welfare in this country has never been about reducing poverty or eliminating hardships.” In fact, results from this study demonstrate that TANF created more hardship for participants and more barriers for them in their attempts to become economically stable. In these counties of extreme poverty, job