ABSTRACT

For many public assistance recipients, engaging in work activities is mandatory to receive benefits. Although the goal of such activities, to assist recipients in finding employment quickly, matches the goal of many recipients, research indicates that few obtain long-term employment. Informed by earlier welfare studies and street-level organization theory, we conducted focus groups to understand recipients’ experiences and perceptions of the relationship between frontline public policies and their employment-related goals. Our findings reveal that recipients perceive rules and services as mismatched with their needs and experience poor communication with staff, leaving them to advocate for themselves and impeding progress.

摘要

对于许多公共援助受助者而言，参加工作活动是获得福利的强制性要求。尽管此类活动的目标是帮助受助人快速找到工作，但与许多受助人的目标相符，但研究表明，很少有人能获得长期就业。在早期的福利研究和街头组织理论的指导下，我们进行了焦点小组讨论，以了解受助者对一线公共政策与其就业相关目标之间关系的经验和看法。我们的研究结果表明，接收者认为规则和服务与他们的需求不匹配，并且与员工的沟通不畅，使他们无法为自己辩护并阻碍进步。