{"product_id":"living-on-the-edge-in-terese-lawinski-9780826516992","title":"Living on the Edge in Suburbia: From Welfare to Workfare","description":"Westchester County, New York, is thought of as suburban and affluent, but welfare reform hit hard here, too. The radical 1996 legislation created a temporary assistance program for poor families with harsher provisions than the program it replaced. It mandates \"workfare,\" meaning that recipients must work as a condition of benefit receipt. But the work parents obtain in the so-called flexible labor market--jobs like home health care aide--are inflexible for them. One sick child can mean the loss of a job.\u003cbr\u003e In contrast to accounts of inner-city poor families, these suburban parents' stories reveal a broad array of precipitating circumstances leading to their downward economic slide and to welfare. They also provide insight into the bureaucratic machinations, rigid rules and mandates, disciplining techniques, and catch-22s that create an insecure environment for many families today. Many of these stories show that the need for welfare over time extends well beyond the federal government's five-year lifetime limit on welfare. Policies emphasizing work first also restrict access to education and further hinder parents' ability to gain a toehold in the economy.\u003cbr\u003e In this tale of people and policies, the author shows how the interests of governments are often at variance with those of vulnerable families, and how some government actions place more pressure on lives replete with stress.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Terese Lawinski\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0826516998\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780826516992\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vanderbilt University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/09\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 214\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2011","brand":"Terese Lawinski","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48517503025407,"sku":"9780826516992","price":99.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_40ccb17a-2df6-4d2b-adc5-cf8dc55ce7f8.jpg?v=1778732022","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/living-on-the-edge-in-terese-lawinski-9780826516992","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}