Social Work’s Response to Poverty: From Benefits Dependence to Economic Self-Sufficiency

ABSTRACT

Welfare reform in the 1990s represented a fundamental policy shift in the United States’ response to poverty from supporting benefits dependency to promoting economic self-sufficiency. Social work’s capacity to integrate this policy shift into practice is central to meeting its mission to alleviate poverty. This study looked at the preparation of future social workers as a way to gauge the extent of the profession’s integration of this shift. Findings showed that about half of social work education programs do not include skills and knowledge related to economic self-sufficiency in their curricula, and there is considerable variability among those that do. Most program administrators are interested in expanding their curricula but are hampered by a lack of resources and faculty and student resistance.

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support from the study funders, the New York Community Trust and the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation.

Notes

¹ Baccalaureate programs: small=5–60 students, medium=61–138 students, large=139–732 students; master’s programs: small=36–109 students, medium=110–251 students, large=252–3,320 students.

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the generous support from the study funders, the New York Community Trust and the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Lauren B. Gates

Lauren B. Gates is Director of the Workplace Center and a Senior Research Scientist at Columbia School of Social Work, New York. Jennifer Koza is a Research and Evaluation Analyst at Safe Horizon in New York. Sheila H. Akabas is emeritus professor, emeritus director of the Workplace Center and Senior Research Scientist, Columbia School of Social Work, New York.

Jennifer Koza

Lauren B. Gates is Director of the Workplace Center and a Senior Research Scientist at Columbia School of Social Work, New York. Jennifer Koza is a Research and Evaluation Analyst at Safe Horizon in New York. Sheila H. Akabas is emeritus professor, emeritus director of the Workplace Center and Senior Research Scientist, Columbia School of Social Work, New York.

Sheila H. Akabas

Lauren B. Gates is Director of the Workplace Center and a Senior Research Scientist at Columbia School of Social Work, New York. Jennifer Koza is a Research and Evaluation Analyst at Safe Horizon in New York. Sheila H. Akabas is emeritus professor, emeritus director of the Workplace Center and Senior Research Scientist, Columbia School of Social Work, New York.