Surviving welfare reform: Battered Black women's strategies for survival in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Item
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Title
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Surviving welfare reform: Battered Black women's strategies for survival in Poughkeepsie, New York.
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Identifier
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AAI3024779
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identifier
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3024779
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Creator
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Davis, Dana M.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Leith Mullings
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural | Sociology, Public and Social Welfare | Women's Studies | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies | Black Studies
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Abstract
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This dissertation examines the impact of welfare reform in the lives of some Black battered women, living in Poughkeepsie, New York. The research centers on understanding how Black women who are battered, access resources through social services after having left a battering relationship. The dissertation describes the regulatory nature of welfare reform policy and the strategies that women utilize to negotiate resources. The study examines the content of battered women's experiences as they attempt to create independent households within the context of welfare reform policy. Often the women's interactions with welfare caseworkers and policy mandates precipitated a range of strategies in order to get basic needs met, such as food, rent and cash.;To determine the impact of the welfare reform policy life history interviews and participant observation were the primary methods of data collection. The data collection methods linked the subjects' lived experiences of violence and poverty to the use of welfare, and the nature of women's engagement with social services. In addition, interviews were conducted with battered women's and anti-poverty advocates, employees of governmental institutions and economic development institutions. Thirteen Black women living in the Grace Smith House Shelter in Poughkeepsie were the research subjects. Nine women of other racial/ethnic groups were also part of this study, four White women, three Latina women, one Asian woman and one East Indian woman.;While this is not a comparative study, the experiences of women of other racial groups are included to provide an overall understanding of how welfare reform regulates women. Some patterns emerged indicating that Black and other women of color are vulnerable to differential treatment. The experiences of the study participants point to some distinct differences in women's processes of achieving self-sufficiency and independent households.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
