Myth and Ceremony in Workfare: Rights, Contracts, and Client Satisfaction
41 Pages Posted: 30 Sep 2002
Date Written: September 2002
Abstract
Throughout Western Europe, the ideology of workfare has been adopted for the unemployed and the socially excluded. For them, social citizenship has been changed from status to contract. The change is justified in terms of "contracts of inclusion" between welfare agencies and recipients. Recipients have "rights" to work or training and obligations to participate. They will be empowered. Contracts of inclusion, however, necessarily exclude. The paper examines the concepts of rights, contracts, and client satisfaction in terms of the U.S. workfare experience. The evidence so far from Europe indicates similar problems in administering workfare for the most vulnerable.
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