Mothers' Aid was an early twentieth-century state mothers' pension program. In this dissertation, Mothers' Aid presents a focal point for examining the economic valuation of parenting, as reflected in the administration of and reform of welfare policies in the United States. Following a discussion of changing economic and familial roles of women and children in the U.S. prior to the Progressive period, Massachusetts' Mothers' Aid is shown to exemplify Progressive-era "maternalist" policies aimed at preserving traditional family forms, while being responsive to local concerns regarding potential employment opportunities for family members. Drawing data from archival Massachusetts welfare archives, a regression model demonstrates the articulation of Mothers' Aid administration with characteristics of recipients (marital status, children's ages) and local economies (industrial base, secular and cyclical employment trends for women and children). What emerges is a view of the dynamics of welfare administration as reflecting evolving societal standards regarding work and family life for women and children within a changing economy. The dissertation concludes with an examination of similar dynamics in subsequent welfare history at the national level (from the New Deal to current welfare reform debates). In particular, current workfare proposals, which seek to integrate adult welfare recipients fully into wage work in exchange for benefits, are contrasted against Progressive-era policies, which granted an economic valuation to parenting work, in its own right, in the form of regular benefits.

Thesis (MDiv (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: According to the researcher, there is a crisis in the faith formation of the adolescent within the family. He is of the opinion that the crisis is a faith identity crisis that is the result of the sucking effect of a secular democracy that manifest in a materialistic orientation of Christian parents. That in turn, influences the faith formation of and the “passing of the faith” to the adolescent negatively, through the fact that they also get caught up in this materialistic culture. The aim of the research is therefore to determine the extent and depth of the crisis of the Christian family’s spirituality in post apartheid South Africa. The researcher thereby wishes to present certain principles for a new partnership between the church and the family. The researcher firstly studies the true nature and composition of the family by gaining a theological perspective on it. He also tries to show that covenant education is also faith formation. To prove this assumption that nuclear families are in an identity crisis, a study is undertaken about the nature of culture and how a change in culture also changes the present worldview of Christians. These changes also give rise to a youth culture that is maintained by the mass media, which influences adolescents’ faith formation further. The empirical research aims to validate the literature study, by investigating the material contexts and orientation of adolescents and parents, as well as their spiritual growth. From the empirical study the inferences are made that parents doesn’t take full responsibility for the faith formation of adolescents. In stead, parents model their vulnerability against a materialistic secular culture that works negatively in on adolescents’ faith formation. To address this problem, a holistic, comprehensive partnership between the church and the family is necessary. This will also contribute to the fact that the church will be healthier and more faithful in her witness to the world.