{"title":"Access to social rights under tension: The growing role of third-party actors in dealing with the administrative burden and its implications","authors":"Antoine Rode","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12652","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12652","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The digital transformation in the public sector is a converging trend in many social protection systems. In France, it is being combined with the gradual closure of many government offices, particularly those responsible for managing social security benefits. This article focuses on one of the consequences of these developments. They lead to an increase in requests for support and help from individuals experiencing administrative burdens. They make their requests to a range of very different local actors, who do not always have the skills or the responsibility to respond to them. Based on a study carried out in social centres in France, this article presents the role of third parties in reducing the administrative burden. More specifically, it investigates the types of costs associated with the administrative burden to which social centres have to respond, and who meets them. The article analyses the tensions posed by this growing role, which range from professional and organisational to political.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"819-831"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12652","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139956927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aaron Reeves, Mark Fransham, Kitty Stewart, Mary Reader, Ruth Patrick
{"title":"Capping welfare payments for workless families increases employment and economic inactivity: Evidence from the UK's benefit cap","authors":"Aaron Reeves, Mark Fransham, Kitty Stewart, Mary Reader, Ruth Patrick","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12651","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12651","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this paper, we examine the labour market effects of lowering the UK's benefit cap in 2016. This policy limits the total amount a working-age non-disabled household with no-one in employment can receive in social security. We treat the sharp reduction in this benefit cap as a natural experiment, comparing those at risk of being capped and those who were not before and after the cap was lowered. Drawing on data from ~500,000 individuals, we find that this reform reduced unemployment compared to those not at risk of being capped. The reform also increased economic inactivity, partly because the cap harmed mental health but also because those at risk of being capped were eligible to claim disability-related welfare payments that made them exempt. Limiting total monthly welfare payments of low-income families may increase employment for some but it can also push others out of the labour market altogether.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"981-994"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12651","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139928109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abha Rai, Mary Lehman Held, Melody Huslage, Eliza Galvez, Yigermal Demissie Ayalew, Leia Siksay
{"title":"“Do the right thing”: Immigrant perspectives of social worker support in the United States","authors":"Abha Rai, Mary Lehman Held, Melody Huslage, Eliza Galvez, Yigermal Demissie Ayalew, Leia Siksay","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12654","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12654","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Social workers play a distinctive role in serving all communities, especially immigrants. Heightened immigrant stress and deteriorating well-being have been reported amid recent anti-immigrant socio-political climate. Given the unique challenges of immigrants, they have distinct needs. In our study, we utilize data from a larger study including a sample of first- and second-generation immigrants, to understand “How can social workers support immigrant communities?” In total, <i>N</i> = 265 participants responded to this prompt. We employed a content analysis approach to analyze participant responses. Our analysis yielded four main themes: (1) Resources for immigrants, (2) Doing right by immigrants, (3) Advocacy, and (4) Understanding immigrants. Our findings are timely in highlighting the diverse perspectives about immigrant needs in the current socio-political climate. Study findings have implications for social workers as well as service providers/agencies that engage with immigrants.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"1200-1207"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12654","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139927809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shared residence and social security policy: A comparative analysis from 13 countries","authors":"Mia Hakovirta, Daniel R. Meyer, Mari Haapanen","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12647","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12647","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Increasingly, children live in both parents' homes equally after parental separation, but little is known about whether social security policy supports these shared-residence families. We propose that a determination of support for shared residence in various policies can be based on two criteria: whether both parents can receive benefits and whether the total amount received is greater than what would have been received if children lived with only one parent. We categorise support for shared residence in child benefits, housing assistance, social assistance, and guaranteed child support in 13 countries (Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States), using a 2017 questionnaire, policy documents, and previous research. Norway is the only country supporting shared residence in all four policy domains; three countries do not support shared residence in any. Policies on shared residence across domains are inconsistent. This research highlights the need to clarify policy for these families and to consider whether parents who manage shared parental responsibilities post-separation should be assisted in new ways.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"965-980"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12647","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Every day is a disaster”: Climate vulnerabilities and disaster subculture of jjokbang-chon in Seoul, Korea and its implications for social work","authors":"Joonmo Kang","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12650","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12650","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This ethnographic study examines the disaster subculture of impoverished urban poor communities regarding extreme weather disasters, through the case of jjokbang-chon, one of the most marginalized communities in Seoul, South Korea. The findings shed light on how jjokbang-chon residents make meaning of disasters, where a sense of normalcy surrounds extreme weather, developed in response to recurring exposure to everyday hazards. This study offers insights into their lived experiences, revealing that the residents' perception of vulnerability often diverges from objective reality, primarily due to the pervasive “everyday disasters” that continually disrupt their lives. This “every day is a disaster” perspective, born from the chronic distress they endure, challenges their ability to recognize extreme weather events as disasters. This research carries implications for the field of social work by emphasizing the necessity of broadening the concept of vulnerability to encompass “everyday disasters,” and highlights the pivotal role of social work in addressing the multifaceted challenges presented by everyday disasters.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"951-964"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12650","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139756393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chenhong Peng, Qingsong Chang, Julia Shu-Huah Wang, Cheuk Yui Yeung, Paul S. F. Yip
{"title":"Patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty and welfare interventions: Towards evidence-based poverty-alleviation policies in Hong Kong","authors":"Chenhong Peng, Qingsong Chang, Julia Shu-Huah Wang, Cheuk Yui Yeung, Paul S. F. Yip","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12648","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12648","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the patterns and determinants of multidimensional poverty and related welfare interventions in Hong Kong. These patterns unveil which dimension or combinations of dimensions contribute the most to multidimensional poverty. These results are useful in informing poverty-alleviation policies as they help to identify <i>who should be targeted</i> and <i>which welfare transfer programme(s) should be enhanced</i>. Data were drawn from the first wave (2015) of the Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (<i>N</i> = 1458). A latent-class analysis revealed four types of multidimensional poverty: <i>severely deprived, housing-led poor, socially and status excluded and neighbourhood poor</i>. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted and identified distinctive determinants of the four types of poverty. The groups that require paramount attention from policymakers are older adults over age 70, households with members with disabilities or chronic diseases and households with five or more members. The assessment of the coverage and intensity of cash and in-kind transfers showed that the coverage of cash transfers for the <i>severely deprived</i> and housing transfers for the <i>housing-led poor</i> was inadequate. The approach proposed in this study exemplifies ways to transform multidimensional poverty research into evidence-based policymaking.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"931-950"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12648","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139856330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Intergenerational solidarity in a developing welfare state: The case of South Korea","authors":"Martin Gurín, Martina Brandt","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12643","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12643","url":null,"abstract":"<p>With our analysis of the Korean society we intend to make an innovative contribution to research on intergenerational solidarity by examining how the introduction of welfare policies has changed patterns of intergenerational solidarity. Using aggregated data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, the Korean General Social Survey, and the Korean Social Survey, we examine the changing character of intergenerational solidarity by focusing on national trends in both societal practice and intergenerational norms from 2002 to 2018. Our findings show that patterns of Korean intergenerational solidarity have modified in various respects. The normative dimension of the familial/filial contract has profoundly changed along with the developing welfare state, shifting from a dominantly filial piety-centric character to more complementarity contract-based norms in which children, welfare state and society are all assigned responsibility for the well-being of parents. Intergenerational “functional” solidarity, however, in terms of the exchange of money and practical support has not de-filialized.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"912-930"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12643","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140476380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Alleviating administrative burden through digitalization and redesign: A laboratory experiment on student financial aid in Germany","authors":"Janne Kalucza, Martin Sievert","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12649","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individuals encounter and experience different costs, conceptualized as administrative burdens, when seeking access to social welfare programs. Scholars and practitioners suggest that digitalizing and redesigning application processes could alleviate and shift some of these negative experiences. However, empirical research testing whether real interventions achieve this remains scarce. In a laboratory experiment, we randomly assigned participants (<i>n</i> = 120) to one of two application processes for a student financial aid program: the standard paper-based or a digitalized and redesigned application procedure. Students encountering the latter experienced significantly less administrative burdens, were more satisfied, and completed a higher proportion of process steps. Furthermore, functional literacy improved the experience of the bureaucratic encounter. These findings reveal the potential of redesigning and digitalizing application processes to alleviate administrative burdens.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"786-805"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12649","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142174301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Self-initiated moves during the formal eviction process: Findings from Swedish Register Data","authors":"Ida Nilsson","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12646","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12646","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A large body of research has demonstrated that evictions affect already vulnerable groups and are linked to a number of adverse outcomes. However, prior findings largely rely on enforced evictions processed through the legal system and it has been suggested that such an approach might underestimate the number of evictions. Using comprehensive Swedish individual-level register data from 2009 to 2012, this study extends prior literature by focusing on self-initiated moves that occur during a formal eviction process but before an enforced removal. Results from explorative statistical analyses indicate that self-initiated moves during the formal eviction process are four times more common compared with enforced evictions. Although self-initiated moves typically affect the same disadvantaged groups as those facing enforced removals, those who self-initiated their move were younger. Households with children were also found to be more common in that group compared with those faced with enforced removals. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"33 4","pages":"897-911"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12646","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139762844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How large families fare in Germany: Examining child poverty risks and policy solutions","authors":"Stephan Köppe, Megan Curran, Iñigo Aldama","doi":"10.1111/ijsw.12639","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijsw.12639","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Historically, researchers and policymakers alike recognized the risk of poverty among large families, but family size is often neglected in the contemporary literature. This article revives an examination of the connections between family size and poverty risk for children with a focus on Germany. We take a child-centered perspective by analyzing a sample of 13–14 year-old children from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). First, we provide a detailed overview of the welfare and tax policies aimed at large families in Germany. Next, we estimate the poverty risk and prevalence for children in large families (looking at families with 3+ and 4+ children). Finally, we discuss how the policy and socio-economic context interacts with the risk of poverty. We identify that the means-tested social assistance scheme penalizes large families, while the child benefit would only acknowledge higher need of middle-income families with three or more children.</p>","PeriodicalId":47567,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Social Welfare","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijsw.12639","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139552257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}