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Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Financial Problems; Independent Living; Insurance; Access to Health Care; Disabilities; Labor Market; Resource Allocation; Social Services; Public Policy; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Income; Access to Education; Rehabilitation; Disability Discrimination; Participation; Gender Differences; Baby Boomers; Economic Factors
Abstract:
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is an essential lifeline for millions of Americans. Without it, many families would be in deep financial distress. SSDI is insurance that workers pay for through premiums deducted from their pay. In return, workers gain the right to monthly benefits if a disabling condition ends their capacity to earn a living. This insurance function of SSDI is critically important. The need for it is not made obsolete by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or by advances in medicine and assistive technology. Such developments expand opportunities for some people with disabilities. But others with disabilities face increasing impediments to work as the demands of work change. Most people with disabilities do not receive SSDI. Some work despite their conditions; others do not meet the strict test of disability for SSDI. Broadly speaking, the goals of national disability policy are to fully integrate people with disabilities into all aspects of American society--including equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency. These goals are pursued through varied systems that provide access to health care, appropriate education, rehabilitation, legal protections against discrimination, and wage replacement income when work incapacity strikes. The SSDI program provides vital income support for workers who have lost their capacity to earn a living. It sustains millions of families and keeps many of them out of poverty. Its policies require a careful balance of security for people who are unable to work and opportunity for those who aspire to work. Lawmakers need to allocate adequate resources for attentive and prompt administration of the program. The fundamental structure of SSDI remains sound and is critically important in today's highly competitive labor market. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)
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Pub Date: |
2012-07-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Compulsory Education; Disabilities; Community Surveys; Family Structure; Rural Areas; Compliance (Legal); School Law; Trend Analysis; Educational Trends; Access to Education; Dropouts; Enrollment Rate; Family Environment; Social Services; Educational Environment; Educational Development; Educational Policy; School Attendance Legislation; Dropout Characteristics; Dropout Rate; Dropout Research; Attendance
Abstract:
The South Africa Schools Act requires every child to "attend school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven years until the last day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of 15 years or the ninth grade, whichever comes first" (Republic of South Africa, 1996). This paper addresses three questions in relation to this. First, to what extent has this legal requirement been met? Second, what are the trends in relation to achieving universal access to compulsory education? And third, what are the factors related to and characteristics of those learners of compulsory school age who are not attending? To address these questions, we have made use of the Statistics South Africa dataset, Community Survey 2007. Our analysis suggests that the size of the compulsory age population who are not attending school may be slightly higher than some government sources have suggested. The trend associated with access remains consistent, with the only major change over the past 10 years being the improved levels of enrolment of six and seven year old children. With regard to the factors related to and the characteristics of children who are not attending school, our analysis reveals that certain sub-populations have higher non-attendance ratios: coloured boys; children whose parents, particularly mothers, have died; children born outside South Africa; children who have moved in the past five years; children with disabilities; and children living in some specific rural communities. A number of broad but interrelated factors may account for children not being in school: disability; family structure; children living in households that are eligible for social grants but are not receiving them; and geographic and racial characteristics. To be poor in South Africa may mean exclusion from the mainstream of the economy, but it does not necessarily mean exclusion from access to basic state services like enrolment in schooling or social grants. Children not attending are not only likely to be living in households that are excluded from participation in the mainstream economy, but are also on the fringes of state services; they may also be on the fringes of households. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research to identify reasons why children in these vulnerable sub-populations are less likely to be enrolled. (Contains 1 figure and 10 tables.)
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Pub Date: |
2012-00-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Disabilities; Employment; Independent Living; Data Analysis; Young Adults; Transitional Programs; Case Studies; Qualitative Research; Program Effectiveness; Special Needs Students; Special Education; Interviews; Observation; High School Graduates; Postsecondary Education; Administrator Attitudes; Parent Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes
Abstract:
Federal and state regulations were established to address the transition service needs of students with disabilities, yet many young adults with disabilities still exit high school unprepared for adult life and do not find employment. To address this concern, this qualitative case study explored the perceptions of six participants actively involved with the transition program. The conceptual framework developed by Garrison-Wade and Lehmann was used to guide the research questions and for understanding the principles and transition practices of students with disabilities. The primary research question examined how 2 transition directors, 2 teachers, and 2 parents described their experiences in preparing students with disabilities for transitioning to work and postsecondary success. Data sources included personal interviews and onsite observations. The data analysis process involved open and axial coding to identify emerging themes, patterns, and relationships relevant to understanding the perspectives of the participants. The findings indicated the transition program is needed; however, the current transition services did not translate into successful employment, postsecondary training, or independent living for the students. Although the findings did not substantiate the best approach to ensure postsecondary success, the results indicated that effective transition services should promote work, independent living, postsecondary follow up, and collaborative efforts between members of the multidisciplinary transition team, including students and parents. Implications for positive social change include better preparing of persons with disabilities to learn the academic, social, and workplace skills necessary to succeed in adult life. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
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Pub Date: |
2013-05-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
Peer Reviewed: |
Yes |
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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Older Adults; Social Services; Social Change; Low Income Groups; Well Being; Rural Areas; Urban Areas; Racial Differences; Social Indicators; Sociometric Techniques; Economic Factors; Public Policy; Policy Analysis; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Life Satisfaction; Comparative Analysis; Longitudinal Studies; Surveys; Statistical Analysis; Predictor Variables; Welfare Recipients; Welfare Services; Grants; Interviews; Rural to Urban Migration
Abstract:
It is commonly assumed that better living standards will boost subjective well-being. The post-apartheid South African government subscribes to this idea; its social policies aim to provide "a better life for all". Since the coming of democracy in 1994, the state has built over 3 million houses and supplied electricity and clean water to poor households. By 2009, an estimated 43% of households were beneficiaries of social grants. The question is whether this investment in services and social assistance translates into higher well-being of citizens. It is argued that older people's experience of positive change in their life circumstances can be taken as a litmus test of progress in society. The paper reports results of a sample survey conducted in 2009 that inquired into the living circumstances and well-being of 1,000 older low-income households in two provinces linked by a labour migration route. Older households were defined as ones with a member 55 years and older. The sample was drawn among three approximately equal-sized subgroups: Rural black households in the former "homelands" of the Eastern Cape Province, and black and coloured households in Cape Town in the Western Cape Province. The majority of the households in the survey had been interviewed in an earlier survey conducted in late 2002. Both material and non-material changes had occurred in the household situation over the 6-year period between 2002 and 2009. Access to housing and infrastructure had improved but financial difficulties and debts continued to plague many of the surveyed households. Rural black households appeared to be worst off among the three categories of older households with the lowest level of living; coloured households best situated with the highest level of living. Urban black households, many of whom were immigrants to Cape Town, appeared to have experienced the greatest fluctuations in their material circumstances between 2002 and 2009 and a mix of fortune and misfortune. Results indicated that social grants, which provided a modicum of financial security and peace of mind, made the crucial difference between fortune and misfortune for vulnerable households. Securing a social pension and other grants appeared to be the main route to good fortune for the rural households in the study. Households in Cape Town required wage income in addition to grant income to get by in the city. This mix of income sources diluted urban households' dependence on social assistance. Regression model results suggest that income and financial security play a significantly more important role in boosting the well-being of low-income older households than access to services. Pooling of income, a common practice in pensioner households, contributed significantly to household satisfaction.
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Pub Date: |
2012-07-00 |
Pub Type(s): |
Reports - Descriptive |
Peer Reviewed: |
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Descriptors:
Independent Living; Child Welfare; Program Effectiveness; Counties; Welfare Services; Case Studies; Federal Legislation; Partnerships in Education; Well Being
Abstract:
This is the first brief in a series, "Building a Post-Care Service System in Child Welfare: Lessons Learned from the Frontlines of Implementation Science in Catawba County." This brief sets the stage for a three-part series on the Catawba County Child Wellbeing Project by describing the Project's origins and historical context. Topics include: 1) the purpose of building a post-care service system; 2) the needs of post-care children and families; and 3) the guiding theory of change for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Project. Additionally, the brief discusses the roles of various organizations involved with the Project--The Duke Endowment, the Catawba County (North Carolina) Department of Social Services (usually called Catawba County Social Services), the National Implementation Research Network and Independent Living Resources, Inc. [For related briefs, see "Building the Child Wellbeing Project: Practitioners' Perspectives on the Role of Implementation Science in Strengthening Post-Care Child Welfare Services. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication #2012-18" (ED534867) and "Using Implementation Science to Support and Align Practice and System Change: A Case Study of the Catawba County Child Wellbeing Project. Research-to-Results Brief. Publication #2012-17" (ED534865).]
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