Whatever happened to the income maintenance line worker

Norman L. Wyers, DSW, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon. IncomeMAiNTENANCEwas"administraHAS SEPARATION WORKED? tively divorced" from provision of social services in public assistance agenThe extent to which the separation of cies by the Department of Health, income maintenance from social ser Education, and Welfare starting in vices has successfully fulfilled its pur 1967, at least partly as a result of propose has not been determined. In fact, fessional social work leaders' advothe criteria according to which success cacy.1 The purpose of the separation could be evaluated have not been made was to remove the requirement that all explicit. Those criteria might include public assistance recipients be given increased rates of utilization of income social services, whether or not they maintenance and social services, in needed or wanted such services. Makcreased levels of satisfaction among ing the receipt of social services volservice users, organizational indicators untary was viewed as a means of proof increased accuracy and fairness in tecting recipients' self-determination determination of eligibility, decrease in and improving the quality of both instigmatizing procedures and attitudes, come maintenance and social service and improved morale among service delivery. Although no detailed data providers. Research in any of these exist on the degree of separation within areas is scarce. What findings exist in programs or states, it is clear that the dicate that underutilization of both in directive was taken seriously and that come maintenance and social services many state public assistance programs continues; that procedures intended to have attempted to separate the two increase efficiency and subsequent re services, both organizationally and strictions on program utilization have functionally. superseded true attempts to extend Although the effort to separate the benefits to eligible people who are not services has been made, social work receiving them; and that stigmatization has done little follow-up to determine of public assistance recipients is still a the ffects of the separation. The central issue to researchers and professional literature has focused theorizers but is not a major concern of elsewhere in the decade during which service providers.4 Workers' morale is separation has been attempted. Most of also a central issue but has received the limited concern expressed has been little attention from program managers in favor of separation.2 The proponents and policymakers.5 have presented both moral and practiSeparation of services was intended cal reasons for their positive stance, to be one way to improve provision of Those few who have been critical of services but was not intended to do it separation have pointed out several single-handedly. Overpowering im problems, including the fact of defipediments to change persist. For nitions of both "service" and "income example, public assistance has yet to maintenance," the tendency of non-supbe significantly reformed, benefit levels portive income maintenance services are demoralizingly low, and organ to be dehumanizing, and the negative izational constraints baffle and frus findings of the first empirical study by trate the good intentions of some Piliavin and Gross of the effect of seppolicymakers to improve services. To aration on clients' rates of utilization of isolate the impact of separation on ser services.3 These criticisms will be exvices is clearly an arduous task. Little amined in a later section. has been done in that regard, however, This article does not review the and the present is logical time to arguments in favor of separation; begin. rather, it attempts to identify what is One interesting exception to the lack known about the actual effects of sepof assessment is the recent study by aration and to suggest reasons for the Piliavin and Gross of 145 recipients of problems that have been found. The public assistance in one locality. These major purpose of the article is to call for authors found the highest utilization the immediate study and definition of rates among participants served by the role of the income maintenance line workers who performed the combined worker. functions of income maintenance and