Discusses the history and prevalence of welfare fraud using interviews and case studies.

Policing Welfare Fraud charts and interrogates the suite of measures ostensibly designed to combat welfare fraud and non-compliance. In Australia, which serves as the empirical focus of this book, these strategies include stringent ID checks, pre-emptive data surveillance technologies including the infamous and illegal ‘robodebt’ programme, a dedicated fraud hotline and an ‘intelligence-led’ fraud investigation framework. Drawing on original documentary and interview data, including interviews with fraud investigators, this book unpacks the logics that underpin these anti-fraud initiatives with a focus on how these initiatives are imbued with logics and practices more readily associated with the criminal justice system. The central argument of the book is that the emergence of contemporary welfare compliance regimes represents a form of ‘governing through fraud’ in which the threat of welfare fraud has effectively necessitated a regime of criminalisation within the welfare state. This has been enabled by a broader process of neoliberal welfare reform, which has cast suspicion over all welfare use. The overall effect of this regime is to restrict access to social security, punish welfare recipients and stigmatise welfare use. Policing Welfare Fraud also highlights points of contradiction and multiplicity in the enactment of specific welfare compliance initiatives, including attempts by welfare officials to moderate or reformulate these strategies ‘on the ground’. These findings demonstrate that the criminalisation of welfare is neither uniform nor inexorable, and that more progressive welfare reform is possible. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, politics and those interested in the policing of welfare recipients.

Star Parker tells the inspirational story of how she turned her life around from a world of drugs, crime, and welfare to success as an entrepreneur, founder of the Coalition on Urban Affairs, and spokesperson for African-American conservatives. Reprint.

Poverty, unemployment, limited access to health care: the litany of ills plaguing contemporary society seems endless, reflective of the pragmatic and philosophical battles waged to overcome what some perceive as insurmountable obstacles. What role has the state played in mitigating the effects of these harsh realities? Offering a comprehensive survey of past and present programs, Social Welfare considers the substance and results of government intervention. Shaped by the works of such distinguished figures as Martin Luther, Adam Smith, and Charles Darwin, this incisive text charts the progression of social welfare policy from inception to its current status. David Macarov links present policy to the convergence of five interacting motivations: mutual aid, religion, politics, economics, and ideology. In identifying these elements, Macarov assays the significance of each in determining the nature of social welfare and its future. Featuring chapter summaries and exercises, this intriguing introduction to social welfare policy and practice will involve and inform students of social work, political science, and sociology. "David Macarov has written a handy introductory social policy text for undergraduate that transcends the descriptive accounts of the social services that pervade the literature. Unlike many other introductory texts, Macarov does not seek to list the major social services and describe their functioning but focuses instead on the role of ideas and wider social forces in social welfare. The book is easy to read and thoroughly supported with recommendations for additional reading. It is a useful addition to the literature." --Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Mary Jo Bane and David T. Ellwood examine the welfare system - its recipients, its providers and the many policy ideas surrounding it. Focusing on the AFDC Programme (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), they identify three models that have been used to explain welfare dependency and test them against an accumulating body of evidence, offering suggestions for identifying potential long-term recipients so that resources can be targeted to encourage self-sufficiency. Finally, they review policy options.

This book closely examines controversial claims and beliefs surrounding poverty and anti-poverty programs in the United States. It authoritatively dismantles falsehoods, half-truths, and misconceptions, leaving readers with an unbiased, accurate understanding of these issues. Poverty and Welfare in America: Examining the Facts, like every book in the Contemporary Debates series, is intended to puncture rather than perpetuate myths that diminish our understanding of important policies and positions; to provide needed context for misleading statements and claims; and to confirm the factual accuracy of other assertions. This book clarifies some of the most contentious and misunderstood aspects of American poverty and the social welfare programs that have been crafted to combat it over the years. In addition to providing up-to-date data about the extent of American poverty among various demographic groups in the United States, it examines the chief causes of poverty in the 21st century, including divorce, disability, and educational shortfalls. Moreover, the book provides an evenhanded examination of the nation's social welfare agencies and the effectiveness of various social service programs managed by those agencies in addressing and reducing poverty.

In 1976, Ronald Reagan hit the campaign trail with an extraordinary account of a woman committing massive welfare fraud. The story caught fire and a devastating symbol of the misuse government programs was born: the Welfare Queen. Overthrowing the Queen examines these legends of fraud and abuse while bringing to light personal stories of hardship and hope told by cashiers, bus drivers, and business owners; politicians and aid providers; and, most important, aid recipients themselves. Together these stories reveal how the seemingly innocent act of storytelling can create not only powerful stereotypes that shape public policy, but also redemptive counter-narratives that offer hope of a more accurate, fair, and empathetic view of poverty in America today. Overthrowing the Queen tackles perceptions of welfare recipients while proposing new approaches to the study of oral narrative that extend far beyond the study of welfare, poverty, and social justice.