Last Resorts

Last Resorts: Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs in Public Welfare studies the implementation of emergencies and special needs programs in the United States welfare system.
The book examines the balance that is reached between individualized and standardized treatment to meet emergencies and special needs, two simultaneously occurring countertrends in public welfare. The monograph discusses such topics as the balance between standardization and individualization in public welfare in the American context; the impact of standardization on basic welfare programs; relationship between emergency and special needs assistance and general welfare policies; and achieving adequate coverage of special needs and emergencies.
Public administrators, social workers, lawyers, and policymakers will find the book interesting.

Contenu

Contents
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1 Standardized Systems and Individual Needs
From Discretion to Standardization
The Countertrend: Emergency and Special Needs Programs
Factors Shaping the Balance
The Character of Specialized Aid
Methods of Study
2 The Impact of Standardization on Basic Welfare Programs
How the Major Consolidated Programs Deal with Emergencies and Special Needs
The Political Context of the Consolidated Grant
3 Reactions to Standardization: Attempts to Fill the Gap
Range of Programs Dealing with Emergency Assistance and Special Needs
Coverage in Emergency Assistance and Special Needs Programs
The Hodgepodge of State and County Programs
4 The Influence of State Public Welfare Policies on Specialized Programs
Conflicting Commitments and Pressures
Sorting Out the Influences: Measures of Welfare Commitments
The Relationship between Characteristics of the AFDC System and Specialized Assistance
The Relationship between the Goals of the System and Specialized Assistance
The Relationship between Community Pressures and Specialized Assistance
Regression Analyses
Three Types of States
5 Rules, Procedures, and Delegation in State Programs
State Rules and Procedures in Specialized Programs
Relating Rules and Procedures to Costs and Caseloads
Administrative Purposes of Rules and Procedures
Appendix: Rules and the Welfare Policy Context
6 County Administration of Specialized Programs
County Rules and Procedures in Specialized Programs
State and County Differences: Methodology or Substance?
County Administrative Characteristics and Program Size
Discrepancies between State and County Variables Predicting Program Size
The Administrative Relationship between States and Counties
7 Administrators' Perceptions of How Well the Specialized Programs Work
Character of Program Administration
Adequacy of the Specialized Programs
Administrative Response to Increased Pressure
The Toughest Problems
The Dilemma of the Administrators
8 Private Charity and Other Community Programs
Responses to Inadequate Public Programs
Availability of Community Resources and Private Charity
How Community Resources and Private Charity Work: Case-Study Data
The Mission of Private Charity
9 A Comparative Note: Meeting Individualized Need in the British Supplementary Benefits Scheme
The British Welfare System
The Operation of the Supplementary Benefits Scheme
Reform Proposals
The 1976 Reform and Subsequent Reforms
The Lesson of the British Experience
10 Striking the Balance
The System We Have
Achieving Adequate Coverage of Special Needs and Emergencies
Balancing Standardization and Individualization
References
Subject Index