Researchware

In 'Exit from Poverty - How "Welfare Mothers" Achieve Economic Viability', author Pamela A. Strother utilized HyperRESEARCH to to collect, manage, and analyze the qualitative data supporting thsi study on poverty, single mothers, and Welfare.

Appearing in the Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Volume 7, Issue 3 & 4 March 2004 , pp 97 - 119, the article notes that "There is a large body of research about the characteristics of people in poverty with regard to demographic structures, social stratification, and income differentials, but the processes by which poor people accomplish improvement in their economic situations is a neglected area of the research. Using qualitative procedures, data analysis of interviews with nineteen AFDC-dependent female heads-of-households who received public assistance for at least five consecutive years between 1970 and 1990, and who exited both public assistance and poverty by means other than marriage or cohabitation, resulted in the emergence of a three-part success configuration. Paradoxically, the subjects' concerns were not primarily about exiting welfare, but rather were focused on broader life goals more in keeping with the aspirations of those in the economic mainstream. Applications of the findings to social work direct practice focus on the challenges of understanding clients' perceptions and supporting their goals, while dispelling the persistent myths about the poor. Applications to social welfare policy focus on the need to differentiate between public assistance receipt and poverty and to develop policy initiatives that would allow increased monetary assistance to the poor."  To view the paper online, click here.