From the Publisher
The strength of Selling Welfare Reform is its focus on the perspectives of caseworkers. Thirty years ago, Michael Lipsky published Street-level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, a call for scholars to heed the power of those responsible for implementing policy. Lipsky's advice is especially relevant to welfare, given the local discretion embedded in reform, and Ridzi provides an insightful glimpse into how welfare caseworkers have responded to their new role." -Political Science Quarterly,
&9220;In this fascinating study, Ridzi deftly explores how 'work-first' came to dominate welfare policy and how this neoliberal ideology contours the interactions between welfare staff and their clients. Selling Welfare Reform is a must-read for all those interested in contemporary welfare reform.&8221;
-Nancy Naples,co-editor of The Sexuality of Migration
&8220;Ridzi provides a deeply grounded and richly detailed view of the many activities that have produced a new U.S. welfare regime. His focus on implementation gives fresh insight into the complex interplay of local and extra-local forces.&8221;
-Marjorie DeVault,editor of People at Work
“Using institutional ethnography, Ridzi critically examines welfare reform at a country work-first program. The considerable benefits of this book derive from the author's interviews with clients and with caseworkers who struggle to reconcile the circumstances of welfare recipients with a rigorous job-placement strategy.”
-CHOICE