Mahasweta M. Banerjee

Micro-Enterprise Training (MET) Program: An Innovative Response to Welfare Reform

ABSTRACT In this paper, I present a case study of a Micro-Enterprise Training program (MET) that was designed especially for people trying to leave welfare, and to do so by starting their own very small businesses earning at least

Work Experiences of Women Survivors: Insights From the Capabilities Approach

7 per hour. Before presenting the case study, I briefly review the literature on welfare reform, wage employment, and micro-enterprise development. Then I discuss the MET program-an innovative response to welfare reform-in its details, capturing the “voices” of the major stakeholders. Finally, I share the barriers and the successes faced by the program as well as the lessons learned, that allow identification of best practices at individual micro-entrepreneur and program levels for running successful micro-enterprise programs. I intend for this paper to teach social work practitioners and students more about micro-enterprise development as a strategy for economic advancement, and encourage more social work involvement in micro-enterprise development programs.

Comparing Rawlsian Justice and the Capabilities Approach to Justice from a Spiritually Sensitive Social Work Perspective

The study presented in this article applied the capabilities approach to the experiences of low-income women survivors of gender-based violence, who worked in the formal and informal economies. Nine women were interviewed about their work histories, alternative resource-generating strategies, the advantages and disadvantages of different types of work, and the impact of gender-based violence on their work lives. The authors vetted these experiences through the lens of Nussbaums 10 human-functioning capabilities and found that 9 of the 10 capabilities were salient in the lives of these women. Implications for social welfare policy and practice with low-income women survivors are offered.

Gender Differences in Capabilities for Work among Poor Challenges and Opportunities

This article examines two social justice theories, Rawlsian Justice and the Capabilities Approach of Sen and Nussbaum, in relation to congruence with four principles of spiritually sensitive social work. We find that although Rawlsian justice has valuable insights, it has some gaps for promoting spiritually sensitive practice. In contrast, the Capabilities Approach bears more promise for promoting spiritually sensitive social work as it meets all these ethical principles. Scholars could build on its insights to articulate a vision for spiritually sensitive social justice that can guide our professions approaches to macropractice and social policy.

The Capabilities Approach: A Framework to Understand and Enhance TANF Recipients’ Employability

Gender inequality is exceptionally high in India. It shows up through various explicit measures, but implicit disparities embedded in patriarchal norms are harder to measure. This article explores whether disparate freedoms between genders influence paid-work capabilities—abilities, skills, resources, and opportunities at personal, interpersonal, and structural levels. Using a mixed-methods design, purposive sampling, and face-to-face interviews, this article reports paid-work capabilities of 67 women and 25 men. The study finds statistically significant gender differences in some work capabilities; however, combined capabilities for work impact type of work and income more for women than for men. Implications are discussed.

Coming Up Short: Family Composition, Income, and Household Savings

This article reviews the capabilities approach to understand the life circumstances that affect the employability of “hard-to-employ” welfare (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families [TANF]) recipients. It reports research findings related to TANF recipients’ employment and presents key elements of the capabilities approach. It compares and contrasts functionings that impede and enhance TANF recipients’ employment. It finds that employability is influenced by seven of the 10 core functioning capabilities identified by Nussbaum. It recommends social workers assess and enhance TANF recipients’ employability by addressing all these seven functionings as appropriate with particular emphasis on practical reason, affiliation, and control over environment.

Social Work and Social Development: Perspectives From India and the United States, edited by Shweta Singh

Objective: Existing research on savings and liquid-asset accumulation is largely quantitative and focuses on descriptions of how income inequality leads to the ability or inability to save. What has been left out of this body of research is an in-depth exploration of the role family composition may play in the way that households accumulate liquid assets. The purpose of this research is to understand how lower and higher income single- and two-parent families characterize reasons for saving, obstacles to saving, and strategies to save. Method: A diverse sample of 42 parents of kindergarteners were asked questions about household saving at 2 time points. Results: Compared to other family types, lower income single mothers report little savings and aspirations toward very short-term savings horizons as a result of persistent income shortfalls. Unlike two-parent households, lower-income single mothers discussed their reasons for avoiding mainstream financial institutions and opting to use cash instead. Conclusions: To alleviate economic inequality and improve households’ ability to withstand financial volatility, social work practice and policy should consider implementing interventions that are responsive to the unique experiences of poverty by family composition.

Partnerships for community preparedness

The purpose of this book is to present an interdisciplinary perspective on social problems and their developmental trajectories in India and the United States. It aims to present the context within which similarities and differences between the two countries reside from a variety of stakeholder perspectives. It describes, analyzes, and synthesizes certain social and developmental policies and practices in the two countries. For a majority of topics, the book first presents the Indian context followed by a response from an US scholar who then expands on the American state of affairs in that particular domain. Some chapters incorporate evidence from empirical research, whereas many are descriptive, conceptual, or experiential. All chapters have questions for discussion or reflection. The book has five parts, 32 chapters, and a glossary. The first part of the book focuses on religion, spirituality, values, and philosophy to orient the reader to beliefs and ways of living in India. It highlights Hinduism with two chapters devoted to it, and briefly touches upon Islam and Sufism in one chapter; and Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity in another chapter. The latter chapter connects religion (Christianity) to social work. The second part traces the “Social development trajectory and its human and environmental consequences” in India and the United States. There are 12 chapters in this section, focusing on social developmental planning in India and structural poverty in the United States; agricultural transition and farmers’ suicides in both countries; living conditions and spatial planning for urban poor in India; development-induced migration within and across countries; and environmental issues and movements in both countries. The third part of the book discusses family social welfare and corrections, and has seven chapters. The chapters cover child welfare, women and gender, aging, and criminal justice in both countries. The fourth part presents health and mental health policies and programs in the two countries through six chapters. The fifth and last part of the book identifies emerging issues in India, where three disparate chapters describe or discuss terrorism; Indian cultural artifacts, the impact of television, and use of street theater in social work; and voluntary organizations.