{"product_id":"gaining-ground-in-illinois-welfare-reform-and-person-centered-policy-analysis-paperback-softback-9780875806273","title":"Gaining Ground in Illinois; Welfare Reform and Person-Centered Policy Analysis (Paperback \/ softback) 9780875806273","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eGaining Ground in Illinois\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eWelfare Reform and Person-Centered Policy Analysis\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDan A. Lewis (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780875806273\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 15 December 2009\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e194 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlends both quantitative and qualitative data in an attempt to make more sensitive and refined interpretations.... Lewis has a knack for presenting fairly complicated quantitative findings in a clear manner without too much oversimplification, which is difficult to achieve.\u003c\/p\u003e - Steven G. Anderson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1997, then state Senator Barack Obama sponsored legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to study the newly passed federal welfare reform and how it would affect the citizens of Illinois. He believed that a sound piece of research assessing how the new law affected the poor of Illinois would give lawmakers a way to come together and improve the law and the lives of the poor. In the highly charged times of the 1990s when ideology often trumped pragmatism, the assumptions and values of policy makers often shaped their work much to the detriment of those affected by the policies.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDan A. Lewis was selected to direct the study and report back to the legislature. For four years, Lewis and his team of researchers tracked a random group of 1,000 people who were on welfare when the new law went into effect. He reported on their income, their general well being, and the lives of their children under the new system. \u003ci\u003eGaining Ground in Illinois\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates the findings of the study and offers advice for future policy makers. Lewis uses quantitative and qualitative data to draw clear conclusions but also to make the real experiences of the people he studied as vivid as possible. The reports allowed the legislature to debate the issue with the facts at hand.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLewis seeks a middle ground to give us a picture of how welfare reform affected the poor and to give policy makers some direction in how to improve the lives of the poor moving forward. As the current economic crisis leads to more discussion of public aid and entitlements, Lewis' work offers a starting point for the discussion about the welfare of the people of Illinois. This study will be of interest to sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and policy makers who are concerned with the welfare of the poor and are looking for new directions in social policy that move beyond the tired debates of the last generation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments \u003cbr\u003e Section I: Welfare Reform in Political and Ideological Perspective in Illinois and Nationally \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 1: Beyond Left and Right and the Problem of Welfare Reform \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 2: Making the Words Flesh: Welfare Reform in the Illinois Political Culture \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 3: The Illinois Families Study \u003cbr\u003e Section II: Person-Centered Characteristics that Influence the Outcomes of Welfare Reform \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 4: Two Worlds of Welfare: Overview of Welfare Caseload Trends in Illinois \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 5: Working and Earning After Welfare Reform \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 6: Depression and Welfare \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 7: How the Children Fare \u003cbr\u003e Section III: Policy Factors Influencing the Poor in Illinois \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 8: Sanctions: Do They Help or Hurt the Poor? \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 9: Did Welfare Reform Launch the Poor into Better Neighborhoods? \u003cbr\u003e Chapter 10: Assessing the Results and Moving Forward \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Appendix A: Springfield Data Collection \u003cbr\u003e Appendix B: Background on the IFS Qualitative Sample \u003cbr\u003e Notes \u003cbr\u003e References \u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Northern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52584758804760,"sku":"9780875806273","price":21.28,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/gaining-ground-in-illinois-welfare-reform-and-person-centered-policy-analysis-paperback-softback-9780875806273","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}