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Faces of Poverty - Portraits of Women and Children on Welfare (Paperback, Reissue)
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Faces of Poverty - Portraits of Women and Children on Welfare (Paperback, Reissue)
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An absorbing, solidly documented study of America's welfare system
and the circumstances of five women and their children who are
dependent upon it. Berrick (director of the Center for Research on
Public Social Services at the School of Social Welfare at the
University of California at Berkeley) focuses on five diverse
families in her attempt to dispel stereotypical myths of welfare
mothers. Too many Americans, contends Berrick, perceive welfare
recipients as lazy, irresponsible, and conniving. Budget-cutting
politicians, moreover, are quick to offer simple economic solutions
to complex social problems. Three of the women portrayed here have
temporarily fallen through the cracks and need some assistance to
get back on their feet. The other two, products of highly unstable
backgrounds, are not likely to walk even with society's crutches.
Berrick is clearly sympathetic to the full range of her subjects.
She argues that "none of the women depicted here wanted to be on
welfare, and few of them expected to use it for a long time."
Long-term welfare users, comprised mainly of high school dropouts
and women of color, are the exception rather than the rule.
Berrick's statistics illustrate how welfare alone does not lift a
family above the poverty level, and she elucidates how the system
encourages mothers to cheat in order to make ends meet. The author
feels that many condescending welfare officials also evoke
hostility, and she is extremely critical of welfare workers, whom
she describes as "notoriously rude and unhelpful." One theme that
emerges, though not addressed by Berrick, is these women's poor
choices of mates - men who are mostly irresponsible and abusive
alcoholics or drug addicts. A passionate, perceptive assessment of
a complex and timely issue. (Kirkus Reviews)
Faces of Poverty describes the circumstances of living poor for America's women and children. The pages show the interplay between policy and human lives and make a complex problem comprehensible through the stories of five American families. At a time when our nation's leaders are calling for reform of the welfare system, ths book provides valuable information about the families affected by these changes while offering solutions to a perplexing American dilemma.
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