The Crisis Of Caregiving: Social Welfare Policy In The United States

T C  C This page intentionally left blank T C  C Social Welfare Policy in the United States Edited by Betty Reid Mandell THE CRISIS OF CAREGIVING Copyright © Betty Reid Mandell, 2010. All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–0–230–62261–6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The crisis of caregiving : social welfare policy in the United States / [edited by] Betty Reid Mandell. p. cm. ISBN 978–0–230–62261–6 (hardback) 1. Public welfare—United States. 2. United States—Social policy. I. Mandell, Betty Reid. HV95.C75 2010 361.6⬘80973—dc22 2009048757 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: June 2010 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. To all the caregivers who have been deserted by the government. This page intentionally left blank C    Introduction Betty Reid Mandell 1 1 Who Cares?: The Crisis of Caregiving Betty Reid Mandell 5 2 Women’s Work, Mother’s Poverty: Are Men’s Wages the Best Cure for Women’s Economic Insecurity? Gwendolyn Mink 33 3 Paid Family and Medical Leave Randy Albelda and Betty Reid Mandell 47 4 The Privatization of Care Betty Reid Mandell 63 5 Shelters for the Homeless: A Feeble Response to Homelessness Betty Reid Mandell 81 6 Foster Care Betty Reid Mandell 113 7 Adoption Betty Reid Mandell 145 8 The Punitive State: Dimensions of Incarceration in the United States Marguerite G. Rosenthal 9 Alternatives to Welfare Betty Reid Mandell Appendix A Current Safety Net Programs 181 207 231 Appendix B Advocacy Organizations Concerned with Caregiving and Social Justice 245 Contributors 257 Index 259 This page intentionally left blank Introduction Betty Reid Mandell The United States could be called “the reactive welfare state.” It does not take a preventive and noncoercive approach toward its members; rather it is reactive and largely coercive taking a “back-end” approach that responds to the destructive consequences of the relative neglect of the “front-end” approach and that is necessitated by such neglect.1 The nation takes a preventive public health approach in ensuring that the population avoid diseases by drinking clean water and having adequate sanitation, yet it does not take a preventive approach in caring for people’s health. Rather than enacting universal health insurance, the nation ignores the health needs of millions of