TY - JOUR
T1 - Welfare recipient views about caseworker performance
T2 - Lessons for developing TANF case management practices
AU - Anderson, Steven G
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - As states implement Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, the importance of public assistance case-worker functioning has been magnified. Based on personal interviews with 60 recipients, this article presents recipient perspectives about caseworker performance in one pre-TANF welfare reform program. While assessments of caseworker performance were mixed, study respondents consistently emphasized three dimensions in evaluating caseworker performance: substantive competence, accessibility, and interpersonal relations. Respondents rarely mentioned empowerment, strength building, or other casework practices that have been emphasized in social work practice literature. It was concluded that developing caseworker competence along the basic performance dimensions stressed by respondents may be a prerequisite to the establishment of more substantial helping relationships. Discussion includes prospects for infusing empowerment and strength-building perspectives into TANF case manager roles.
AB - As states implement Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, the importance of public assistance case-worker functioning has been magnified. Based on personal interviews with 60 recipients, this article presents recipient perspectives about caseworker performance in one pre-TANF welfare reform program. While assessments of caseworker performance were mixed, study respondents consistently emphasized three dimensions in evaluating caseworker performance: substantive competence, accessibility, and interpersonal relations. Respondents rarely mentioned empowerment, strength building, or other casework practices that have been emphasized in social work practice literature. It was concluded that developing caseworker competence along the basic performance dimensions stressed by respondents may be a prerequisite to the establishment of more substantial helping relationships. Discussion includes prospects for infusing empowerment and strength-building perspectives into TANF case manager roles.
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U2 - 10.1606/1044-3894.204
DO - 10.1606/1044-3894.204
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:0035289555
VL - 82
SP - 165
EP - 174
JO - Journal of social casework
JF - Journal of social casework
SN - 1044-3894
IS - 2
ER -