Implications of welfare reform on the elderly: a case study of provider, advocate, and consumer perspectives.
Whereas many studies of welfare reform have focused on effects on children and families, little research has examined the implications of welfare reform for the elderly. This case study incorporates interviews with service providers for the aging, members of advocacy organizations, and two focus groups of older consumers conducted in the multi-ethnic urban community of San Francisco. Study findings suggest that welfare reform has had both direct and indirect effects on the elderly and their services in the study community. Direct effects derive primarily from changes in the welfare reform legislation that had the effect of undermining both immigrants' eligibility for and claiming of public assistance benefits. Indirect effects on older persons include increased child-care demands upon grandparents. The case study data bear on a significant policy change within the broader trend of devolution at a historical point when anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States was running high.
Estes
Carroll L
CL
Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, USA. cestes@itsa.ucsf.edu
Goldberg
Sheryl
S
Wellin
Chris
C
Linkins
Karen W
KW
Shostak
Sara
S
Beard
Renée L
RL
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003255:Consumer Organizations; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017144:Focus Groups; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000191:economics*; D016852:Housing for the Elderly / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D011632:Public Assistance / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011640:Public Policy; D012495:San Francisco; D012943:Social Security / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014186:Transportation / Q000191:economics