Welfare Grants Research Articles

Giving Philanthropy a New History

Book Review| November 01 2013 Giving Philanthropy a New History Nick Cullather. The Hungry World: America’s Cold War Battle Against Poverty in Asia. : Harvard University Press, 2010. xii + 348 pp., illus., index. ISBN 978-0-674-05078-5. $36.50 (hardcover); ISBN 978-0-674-72581-2; $21.95 (paper).Inderjeet Parmar. Foundations of the American Century: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller Foundations in the Rise of American Power. : Columbia University Press, 2012. xii + 356 pp., index. ISBN 978-0-231-14628-9. $40.00 (hardcover).Brent Ruswick. Almost Worthy: The Poor, Paupers, and the Science of Charity in America, 1877–1917. : Indiana University Press, 2013. xiv + 270 pp., illus., index. ISBN 978-0-253-00634-9. $37.00 (hardcover).Olivier Zunz. Philanthropy in America: A History. : Princeton University Press, 2012. xii + 384 pp. ISBN 978-0-691-12836-8. $29.95 (hardcover). Audra J. Wolfe Audra J. Wolfe *Independent scholar, Philadelphia, PA; audrajwolfe@gmail.com. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (2013) 43 (5): 619–630. https://doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2013.43.5.619 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Audra J. Wolfe; Giving Philanthropy a New History. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 1 November 2013; 43 (5): 619–630. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2013.43.5.619 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentHistorical Studies in the Natural Sciences Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2013 by the Regents of the University of California2013 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Prevalence of self-reported diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in individuals seeking State funding in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

ObjectiveDiabetes, hypertension and heart disease inflict a heavy health burden on the Caribbean Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This study assessed the prevalence of self- reported diabetes, hypertension and heart disease in lower socioeconomically placed individuals accessing welfare grants. MethodData collected between July 2008 and June 2009 were analyzed from 14,793 responses. The survey sought information on education, average monthly income, health, housing, and household facilities. ResultsSelf-reported disease prevalence was 19.5% (95% CI: 18.9–20.2) for diabetes mellitus; 30.2% (95% CI: 29.5–30.9) for hypertension; and 8.2% (95% CI: 7.7–8.6) for cardiac disease. Diabetes and cardiac disease had equivalent gender frequency; hypertension was more prevalent in women (p<.001). Disease prevalence was highest in Indo-Trinidadians, married and divorced subjects, non-Christians and increased with age. Those with primary education alone were at greatest risk. ConclusionTrinidad and Tobago have a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease. Hypertension showed gender specificity in women. Prevalence was highest in Indo-Trinidadians, increased with age, and primary education alone was a risk factor. Interventions to arrest the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases to promote wellness are needed in Trinidad and Tobago.

“What is Killing Me Most”: Chronic Pain and the Need for Palliative Care in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

ABSTRACTPalliative care and the provision of pain relief medicine are essential components of health care, yet little research has been conducted on access to pain medicine in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to examine patient experiences and health care provider attitudes towards chronic pain and palliative care in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The study used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate experience of chronic pain in a district hospital and associated clinics. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with 45 current and former patients receiving care and 26 health care providers. Forty-six percent (n = 19) of patients rated their pain in the last month as severe. Thirty-nine percent (n = 17) of individuals stated that they had never been provided with an explanation for the cause of their pain. Multiple regression analysis found that being female, not having received a social welfare grant, and not having received an explanation for the cause of pain were associated with higher ratings of pain (P < .10 for each variable). Factors inhibiting the provision of palliative care included insufficient access and availability of pain medication and providers’ association of palliative care with end-of-life care. Adequate pain relief is often deprioritized in a busy health care setting. Ensuring patients receive sufficient relief for their pain requires interventions at clinical and policy levels, including the provision of needed pain medication and training in palliative care for all providers.

Questioning the use-value of social relationships: care and support of youths affected by HIV in child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The opinion that the extended family can fulfil its supportive role in assisting child-headed households continues to exist. How these households encounter support, what this support entails, and how they experience this support is an under-researched subject. Most research literature on this topic emphasises child-headed households’ material and financial support. However, although financial support is vital, emotional support to cope with the loss of loved ones, or with loneliness and insecurity, is also much needed, as well as adult assistance in obtaining formal support, such as social welfare grants. Thus, to what extent are child-headed households capable of capitalising on existing (extended) family and community members’ care and support? This article addresses this question by exploring the ‘use-value’ of social relationships among child-headed households in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The coping strategies of the child-headed households are discussed and analysed, indicating the children's interpretations and valuation of social relationships and support, whether this increased their potential access to other resources, and whether this support could be considered sufficient. Despite some exceptions, we argue that support from relatives or neighbours is often ambiguous and of little use-value from the viewpoint of a child-headed household. Insights from these findings might be of interest to those involved in support programmes for these households, including the assignment of an adult mentor — which is based on the assumption that existing networks of extended family and community members will help orphaned and vulnerable children to cope.

Strategies to bring about change: a longitudinal study on challenges and coping strategies of orphans and vulnerable children and adolescents in Namibia

Longitudinal research provides insight about the life trajectories of children, the challenges that children experience in different phases of their lives, and the way children cope with these challenges. The article examines the perspectives of 14 orphaned or vulnerable children, initially aged 9 to 12 years (in grades 3 and 4), concerning changes in their difficulties and coping strategies. The children participated in the research in 2003 and again in a follow-up study in 2010 to 2012. Focus group discussions with the children/adolescents were used, as well as child-orientated methods such as drawings, and in-depth interviews with the adolescents and caregivers. Most of the participants described their life situation as better at the time of the 2010/12 study than it had been in 2003. In general, they were receiving more financial support than before from their immediate and extended family or were supporting themselves. One important change since 2003 was that nine of the 14 had since received a state-provided child welfare grant for at least some years. Also, those who said they had previously experienced mistreatment had since left these home situations. The children's agency in making positive changes to their life situations is described by the participants. As adolescents, they tried to access family support by actively asking for financial assistance, and in return they generally felt obligated to support the family once they began earning an income. The strategies they most used to get away from abusive home situations were to inform a relative about the mistreatment or to run away. Children's and adolescents’ limitations concerning strategies for improving their adverse living situations are also discussed.

Conditional cash penalties in education: Evidence from the Learnfare experiment

Wisconsin's influential Learnfare initiative is a conditional cash penalty program that sanctions a family's welfare grant when covered teens fail to meet school attendance targets. In the presence of reference-dependent preferences, Learnfare provides uniquely powerful financial incentives for student performance. However, a 10-county random-assignment evaluation suggested that Learnfare had no sustained effects on school enrollment and attendance. This study evaluates the data from this randomized field experiment. In Milwaukee County, the Learnfare procedures were poorly implemented and the random-assignment process failed to produce balanced baseline traits. However, in the nine remaining counties, Learnfare increased school enrollment by 3.5 percent (effect size = 0.08) and attendance by 4.5 percent (effect size = 0.10). These results suggest that well-designed financial incentives may be an effective mechanism for improving the school persistence of at-risk students at scale.

Factors influencing uptake of HIV care and treatment among children in South Africa – a qualitative study of caregivers and clinic staff

Despite antiretroviral therapy rollout in South Africa, fewer children than expected are accessing HIV care services. Our objectives were to describe barriers and facilitators of uptake of HIV care among children. Our study involved six private-sector clinics which provide HIV care free-of-charge in and around Gauteng province, South Africa. In-depth interviews were conducted in July 2008 with 21 caregivers of HIV-infected children attending these clinics, 21 clinic staff members and three lead members of staff from affiliated care centres. Many children were only tested for HIV after being recurrently unwell. The main facility-related barriers reported were long queues, negative staff attitudes, missed testing opportunities at healthcare facilities and provider difficulties with paediatric counselling and venesection. Caregivers reported lack of money for transport, food and treatments for opportunistic infections, poor access to welfare grants and lack of coordination amongst multiple caregivers. Misperceptions about HIV, maternal guilt and fear of negative repercussions from disclosure were common. Reported facilitators included measures implemented by clinics to help with transport, support from family and day-care centres/orphanages, and seeing children's health improve on treatment. Participants felt that better public knowledge about HIV would facilitate uptake. Poverty and the implications of children's HIV infection for their families underlie many of these factors. Some staff-related and practical issues may be addressed by improved training and simple measures employed at clinics. However, changing caregiver attitudes may require interventions at both individual and societal levels. Healthcare providers should actively promote HIV testing and care-seeking for children.

The quality of material care provided by grandparents for their orphaned grandchildren in the context of HIV/AIDS and poverty: a study of Kopanong municipality, Free State

A pervasive argument in the literature on AIDS orphans in South Africa is that grandparents, who often care for their orphaned grandchildren, lack the material means to provide adequate care. This study investigated that claim in an area of ubiquitous poverty and very high unemployment. It is based on the analysis of data obtained from two surveys carried out by the HSRC in the semi-rural municipality of Kopanong in the Free State. The first study was a census which targeted the whole population. The second, smaller survey sampled households which accommodated orphaned and vulnerable children. Based on four proxy indicators for material care: possession of birth certificates, uptake of welfare grants, levels of school attendance, and the number of meals consumed daily, the study revealed that there was very little difference in the quality of care provided by grandparents and other carers, including biological parents. Indeed, since the old age pension is much higher than the child support grant and the foster care grant it may be that grandparents who are pensioners generally have higher incomes than most other adults. In line with the findings of other research, the study found that poverty is a major problem confronting all carers in the area. It concludes that interventions that primarily target orphans overlook the material needs of all poor children. It therefore joins the calls of other researchers for greater state support for all poor children, irrespective of whether they are orphans and who their carers are.

Legal capacity and family status in child-headed households: Challenges to legal paradigms and concepts

In its 2005 Household Survey, Statistics South Africa counted 143,167 children living in child-headed households. The increased numbers of such households is usually ascribed to the death of parents from AIDS, and researchers expect them to increase further in the future. Similar household formations are also found in other Southern African countries such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Uganda, Lesotho and Tanzania. Although the research indicates that children living in child-headed households usually experience emotional trauma, poverty and problems with accessing education, health care and social welfare grants, the consensus amongst children’s advocates and academics is that placing all such children in institutions, foster homes or adoption is not currently a viable or an optimal solution. The existence of child-headed households and the urgent need to assist children living in them exposes the inadequacy of several common law legal concepts and paradigms. This paper explores some practical and conceptual arguments for assigning family status to child-headed households and for awarding legal capacity to the minors who head these households.

Kinship Care and “Child-Only” Welfare Grants: Low Participation Despite Potential Benefits

Several U.S. social policies identify kinship care as the preferred out-of-home placement. However, financial assistance to defray the cost of kinship caregiving is limited. One option is the child-only welfare grant. This study investigates kinship households' eligibility for, utilization of, and educational benefits associated with these grants. Most kinship households are eligible for these grants, which in 2003 provided a median monthly benefit of $227. However, analysis of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health data indicates that few eligible kinship households receive the grants. Regression analysis indicates that an increase in this amount of monthly household income during adolescence is associated with a 7% greater likelihood of kinship youth graduating from high school.

Poverty and psychological health among AIDS-orphaned children in Cape Town, South Africa

This study examined associations between AIDS-orphanhood status, poverty indicators, and psychological problems (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, peer problems, delinquency, conduct problems) among children and adolescents in townships surrounding Cape Town, South Africa. One thousand and twenty-five children and adolescents completed standardized and culturally sensitive cross-sectional surveys. Children orphaned by AIDS had more psychological problems including depression, peer problems, post-traumatic stress, and conduct problems. Specific poverty indicators including food security, access to social welfare grants, employment in the household and access to school were associated with better psychological health. Poverty indicators mediated associations of AIDS-orphanhood with psychological problems. Food security showed the most consistent association with reduced psychological problems. Poverty alleviation measures have the potential to improve psychological health for AIDS-orphaned children in South African townships.

John Moullin Davies

John Moullin Davies was born in London in 1925 but brought up mainly on the Sussex coast with his older brother, George. This was the period after the first world...

Speech and Language “Mythbusters” for Internationally Adopted Children

Speech and Language “Mythbusters” for Internationally Adopted Children

Welfare Grants and Their Impact on Child Health: The Case of Sri Lanka

Summary This paper asks whether an exogenous increase in income in the context of a poverty alleviation program has an impact on child anthropometric outcomes. The study looks at the Samurdhi Program in Sri Lanka, and uses household data for 1999/2000. Using propensity score matching to account for selectivity bias, the paper finds that Samurdhi improves the height-for-age z-score of a child from a grant-receiving family by roughly 0.40 standard deviations with the impact driven mainly by children between six, and 36 months of age, compared to if they did not receive the grant. It also improves weight-for-height z-scores by around 0.45 standard deviations of children aged 36–60 months. These results are important for Sri Lanka, where child nutrition is a cause for concern.

A facilitated process towards finding options for improved livestock production in the communal areas of Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

A participatory multi-stakeholder process of finding options for improving livestock production in the severely degraded communal grazing area of Sterkspruit in South Africa was conducted. Interviews were conducted with individual livestock keepers from two sites to gather data on their demographic characteristics, livestock holdings, and main sources of income. Interviews and focus workshops with various stakeholders and the livestock keepers were conducted on what they perceived to be options for improving livestock production. Livestock keepers comprised less than 20% of the entire population in both villages, consisting of individuals about 60 years of age. About 60% kept less than eight cattle. Regardless of herd size, about 40% relied on old-age and welfare grants rather than livestock for income. Livestock keepers identified options promoting survival of livestock, such as improved veterinary services and winter feeding as a priority. In contrast, other stakeholders, including representatives of government, municipalities, farmers unions and commodity associations, identified options for reducing livestock numbers, such as marketing and removal of large stock owners to private land, as a priority for reducing degradation due to overstocking. Due to this difference in goals and aspirations, no common set of priorities could be agreed upon.

Expanding the Social Security Net in South Africa: Opportunities, Challenges and Constraints.

For a large proportion of the South African population social welfare grants are an important source of income. Rapid increases in government expenditure on social security between 2000 and 2006 has further increased poor households' reliance on welfare grants and has been important in the fight against poverty. Given these apparent successes, many are calling for further expansions in social security provisioning, with the idea of developing conditional cash transfer schemes surfacing in policy circles from time to time. However, as we argue in this paper, various constraints to such expansions of the welfare net exist. Whereas in the past much of the increased expenditure on social security provisioning could be financed out of government revenue overruns, it is likely that further increases will only be possible through a reallocation of government expenditure. Already there is evidence of a substitution taking place within the social budget: expenditure on education and health seems to have declined in favour of increased welfare transfer expenditure. This, we argue,is untenable and may harm the already weak education and health services in South Africa. Conditional grants linked to school attendance and visits to health clinics will only put further pressure on health and education services, as well as the agency responsible for disbursing and monitoring welfare payments in the country. We argue, therefore, that budgetary and service delivery constraints, at the present moment, present a strong argument against any expansion of the social welfare system in the immediate future.

Novel synthetic ceramide derivatives increase intracellular calcium levels and promote epidermal keratinocyte differentiation

Ceramide is an important constituent of stratum corneum lipids, which act as both physical barriers and signal modulators. We synthesized several ceramide derivatives and investigated their effects on keratinocyte differentiation. RT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the novel synthetic ceramide derivatives K6PC-4 [N-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)-2-hexyl-3-oxo-decanamide], K6PC-5, [N-(1,3-dihydroxypropyl-2-hexyl-3-oxo-decanamide] and K6PC-9 (N-ethanol-2-hexyl-3-oxo-decanamide) [corrected] These ceramide derivatives elicited a rapid transient increase in intracellular calcium levels, which were measured using laser scanning confocal microscopy. In addition, K6PC-4, K6PC-5, and K6PC-9 stimulated the phosphorylation of p42/44 extracellular signal-regulated kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. In a reconstituted epidermis model, K6PC-4, K6PC-5, and K6PC-9 significantly increased keratin 1 expression in the suprabasal layer. These results indicate that these novel synthetic ceramide derivatives have the potential to promote keratinocyte differentiation, suggesting that the lipid molecules are applicable for treating skin diseases involving abnormal keratinocyte differentiation.

Do Welfare Sanctions Increase Child Protection System Involvement? A Cautious Answer

This study assesses the relationship between various types of welfare grant reductions and subsequent child maltreatment reports in a sample ($$N=1,260$$) of recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Results show that receipt of TANF sanctions increases the rate of having an investigation for neglect but does not bear a statistically significant relation to having an indicated report of neglect or abuse. Receipt of other types of grant reductions, however, is positively associated with the rate of having indicated reports. The statistically significant findings persist with the application of fixed‐effects techniques, which reduce the potential for omitted variable bias.

Anxious communities: the decline of mine migration in the Eastern Cape

This article addresses the neglected question of what happens to development when migration goes into decline. It examines two villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa's poorest province and long dependent on mine migration, which is now burdened with returning ex-miners because of retrenchments in the mining industry. It describes the negative effect on ex-migrants' psychological wellbeing and standing in the community, and other effects such as the emergence of women as the new migrants as ex-miners fail to cope in other sectors or to apply mine skills at home; an increase in poverty through loss of wages; lack of money for education; a decline in investment in agriculture; the conversion of farmland to grazing; lack of business development; and dependence on pensions and child welfare grants. The article concludes that although migration did not provide a route out of poverty, its absence is making the poor a lot worse off.

The Politics of Land Reform: Tenure and Political Authority in Rural Kwazulu‐Natal

When South Africa's land reform programme finally reached rural Umbumbulu, a potential for conflict over land emerged unexpectedly. Strategically located near a major urban centre, residents of this region have long relied on wages and social welfare grants. Land was valued primarily for residential security and as a symbolic representation of community membership, rather than for productive purposes. This emphasis on community membership, however, created the potential for conflict when a local chief challenged a civil society group over their authority to claim land. With the government's continued hesitancy to challenge the authority of chiefs, land reform provided an opportunity for local chiefs to reinforce their position and potentially to expand the amount of land under their jurisdiction. This agenda conflicted both with the government's interest in developing commercial agriculture and local residents’ desire for rural land as security in the context of high levels of unemployment.