Routledge The Promise of Welfare Reform: Political Rhetoric and the Reality of Poverty in the Twenty-First Century

Since 1996, politicians and public officials in the United States have celebrated the 'success' of welfare reform legislation despite little, if any, evidence to support their claims. The Promise of Welfare Reform: Political Rhetoric and the Reality of Poverty in the Twenty-First Century presents articles from 23 community practitioners and researchers who challenge the 'reform' that has turned public aid from a right to a privilege. The authors transcend conventional academic writing, offering careful and thoughtful analysis that examines the history of welfare reform, its connection to poverty, family issues, and the impact of racism on poverty and on the treatment of the poor. Review "...provide[s] an eclectic collection of chapters that address many aspects of the new welfare-to-work program and examines the wider political, economic and cultural context in which these changes evolved." -- Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Vol. 36 no. 3, 2008