TITLE: Norman Street: Poverty and Politics in an Urban Neighborhood
AUTHOR: Ida Susser
SECTION: Chapter 4: The Welfare System: Interaction Between Officials and Clients
This chapter of Norman Street primarily concerns itself with welfare assistance and the dealings between the welfare officers and those who seek federal aid. This chapter analyzes the process, as it was in Greenpoint-Williamsburg, in 1976. Welfare is a facet of life for those who are economically disadvantaged and it was quite prevalent during the period 1975 to 1977. This chapter puts more stress on the difficulties of acquiring this form of assistance rather than on society’s perception of the system as a whole. To begin with, there were three important federal assistant programs mentioned explicitly in the beginning of the chapter: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) which gave money to purchase basic necessities for those children living in broken homes or for those whose fathers were unemployed, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which supported those who were aged, blind, and physically or mentally disabled, and finally, the Home Relief and Veterans’ Assistance which provided aid to lower-income individuals that did not meet the requirements for the other two programs (54-55).
The process that people needed to undergo in order to obtain welfare is in itself a long and drawn out process, usually lasting three or four visits, fraught with much difficulties and complications (59). During 1976, people had to arrive early in the centers and wait in long lines prior to 10 AM or risk getting being denied any service. Numbers were given out and people were assisted when their numbers were called; a failure of their number being called prior to 2 PM however resulted in the individual being forced to wait yet another day. There were receptionists who dealt with approximately 100 to 200 people and checked their documents (57). If documents were approved, the individual would then be sent to have an interview with the welfare officer who would then inquire about more intensive documents. The random assignment of officers were supposed to increase the rate of service and it was also set up to ensure that were no special relationships that would form between the officer and the client (58). The potential problem concerning welfare officers is the concept of “personal evaluation” where there was a tendency for them to apply their own personal standards and reject those cases they deem illegitimate despite the cases fulfilling the legal requirements (59-60). Furthermore, should the officer approve the application, the individual would then undergo a medical examination and possible inquiries about future prospects (59). The chapter concludes by suggesting that the process was intentionally made long and arduous in order to decrease the amount of people who would even apply for federal aid by ensuring that those who had the means were not given any aid at all (61).
