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Rational and Ecocultural Circumstances of Program Take-Up Among Low-Income Working Parents

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gibson, C; Weisner, C
Published in: Human Organization
2002

New Hope (NH) is a random-assignment, antipoverty program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that offers child care subsidies, wage subsidies, health insurance, and, if needed, a temporary community service job to participants working 30 or more hours per week. Despite the relative generosity of the program and supportive caseworkers, take-up was far from universal, and participants rarely used all services. Ethnographic analysis of a random sample of experimental participants found that NH's economically based offer was theoretically too narrow to motivate all participants. Four categories of personal and family circumstances were associated with take-up: 1) the constrained-by-information group (participants' understandings about the program differed from what NH in fact offered); 2) the disruptive-life group (significant personal troubles and instability); 3) the pro-con group (used often explicit cost-benefit calculations); and 4) the daily-routine group (used particular benefits but only if they helped sustain their family daily routine). Analysis of take-up of other services by the control group showed similar patterns, suggesting that these take-up patterns are not specific to NH. We conclude that use of welfare-to-work interventions reflects ecocultural conditions and personal goals and values, as well as a more conventional cost-benefit approach. Economic rational choice as well as local, situated rationality models are needed to fully account for benefit use

Duke Scholars

Published In

Human Organization

Publication Date

2002

Volume

61

Issue

2

Start / End Page

154 / 166

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1601 Anthropology
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Gibson, C., & Weisner, C. (2002). Rational and Ecocultural Circumstances of Program Take-Up Among Low-Income Working Parents. Human Organization, 61(2), 154–166.

Published In

Human Organization

Publication Date

2002

Volume

61

Issue

2

Start / End Page

154 / 166

Related Subject Headings

  • Anthropology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 4401 Anthropology
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1601 Anthropology