The successful implementation of the Canada/British Columbia Agreement to Enhance the Employability of Social Assistance Recipients (the “SAR”, or Four Corner” Agreement) can be explained by a revised version of Mazmanian and Sabatier’s 1983 theory of implementation. This framework is also able to account for some of the limitations that the initiative faced. The analysis of the SAR Agreement is placed in the context of the on-going dilemma of work and welfare and in the evolving ideological climate in the B.C. welfare system from an ideology of redistribution, to one of liberal developmentalism, emphasizing opportunity before work. The case-study provides a history of the implementation of the SAR Agreement in B.C. at both the policy-formulation and field levels of government, and gives an overview of the agreement and its results. This information is gained through reports, government documents and interviews with officials involved in the SAR Agreement. Application of the revised theory of implementation to the agreement illuminates the ingredients critical to the success of the SAR initiative in British Columbia. Among the most important determinants of success were the intensive cooperation between federal and provincial agencies, the amount of discretion given to local officials when combined with the expertise and resources of those officials, the correct causal theory underlying most project designs, and the flexibility of the agreement respond to past successes and failures. The agreement was limited by the lack of general guidelines to provide officials with a sense of direction, by the possibility of conflicting goals of outside agencies, and by problems with the invalid causal theory underlying a few programs. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-126).

Lui, Hor Yan Joyce. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-184). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / English Abstract --- p.i / Chinese Abstract --- p.iii / Acknowledgements --- p.v / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.vii / Table of Contents --- p.viii / Chapter Chapter One: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Research Area and Objectives --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Background and Conceptual Framework --- p.2 / Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of the Research --- p.6 / Chapter 1.4 --- Research Methodology --- p.9 / Chapter 1.5 --- Chapter Organization --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter Two: --- Hong Kong in the Midst of its Transformation --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- A State of Euphoria: Prelude to the Crisis --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- Post 1997 Crisis --- p.18 / Chapter 2.3 --- Development of Social Security in Hong Kong --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4 --- The Paradox --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter Three: --- Welfare Debate --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1 --- Social Democratic Welfare Regimes --- p.29 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Essential Characteristics --- p.29 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State --- p.30 / Chapter 3.2 --- The New Right --- p.31 / Chapter 3.3 --- The Social Development Approach as an Alternative --- p.34 / Chapter Chapter Four: --- Governments' Responses in the West --- p.39 / Chapter 4.1 --- Workfare Programs Gaining Currency --- p.39 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Origin and Development of Workfare Programs in the West --- p.41 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Debates in the Rhetoric of Workfare --- p.44 / Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Mandatory versus Voluntary --- p.45 / Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- Work-first versus Education-first --- p.47 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Common Goal shared by various Emphases --- p.50 / Chapter 4.1.4 --- Effectiveness of Workfare Programs --- p.50 / Chapter 4.1.1.1 --- The Bright Side --- p.51 / Chapter 4.1.4.2 --- The Dark Side --- p.52 / Chapter Chapter Five: --- Hong Kong Government's Responses to the Paradox --- p.54 / Chapter 5.1 --- Multi-directional Interventions --- p.54 / Chapter 5.2 --- Workfare Initiatives --- p.56 / Chapter 5.3 --- Focus of the Present Study --- p.66 / Chapter Chapter Six: --- Research Methodology --- p.68 / Chapter 6.1 --- Overview of the Research Design --- p.68 / Chapter 6.2 --- Philosophical Orientation and Justifications --- p.70 / Chapter 6.3 --- Sampling --- p.72 / Chapter 6.4 --- Data Collection Method --- p.75 / Chapter 6.5 --- Data Analysis --- p.77 / Chapter 6.6 --- Ethical Concerns --- p.84 / Chapter 6.7 --- Research Rigour --- p.85 / Chapter 6.8 --- Reflections --- p.87 / Chapter 6.8 --- Limitations of the Study --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter Seven: --- Major Findings of the Study --- p.91 / Chapter 7.1 --- Profile of the Interviewees --- p.92 / Chapter 7.2 --- Characteristics of the IEAP Studied --- p.95 / Chapter 7.3 --- Major Findings --- p.96 / Chapter 7.3.1 --- Users' Overall Impression on the IEAP --- p.100 / Chapter 7.3.1.1 --- Participants' Views --- p.100 / Chapter 7.3.1.1.1 --- Positive Views --- p.100 / Chapter 7.3.1.1.2 --- Negative Views --- p.102 / Chapter 7.3.1.2 --- Practitioners' Views --- p.103 / Chapter 7.3.1.2.1 --- Strengths of the IEAP --- p.103 / Chapter 7.3.1.2.2 --- Weaknesses of the IEAP --- p.104 / Chapter 7.3.2 --- Factors Attributing to Successful Employment --- p.108 / Chapter 7.3.2.1 --- Fresh CSSA recipients --- p.108 / Chapter 7.3.2.2 --- Participants' differential views on Welfare Dole versus Work --- p.109 / Chapter 7.3.2.3 --- Adaptability of the Participants --- p.114 / Chapter 7.3.2.4 --- Family as an important source of Motivation --- p.115 / Chapter 7.3.3 --- Program Factors Facilitating Successful Employment --- p.119 / Chapter 7.3.3.1 --- Being-first Orientation --- p.119 / Chapter 7.3.3.2 --- Use of Social Capital in the Community --- p.124 / Chapter 7.3.4 --- Factors Inhibiting Successful Employment --- p.126 / Chapter 7.3.4.1 --- Age --- p.126 / Chapter 7.3.4.2 --- Market Constraints --- p.127 / Chapter 7.3.4.3 --- Low Economic Incentives --- p.129 / Chapter 7.3.4.4 --- Inadequacies of the Human Capital Development --- p.131 / Chapter 7.3.5 --- Barriers in Achieving Total Self-Reliance --- p.132 / Chapter 7.3.5.1 --- Poor Financial Management --- p.133 / Chapter 7.3.5.2 --- Low Market Wages --- p.134 / Chapter 7.3.5.3 --- Flex-Work --- p.135 / Chapter Chapter Eight: --- Discussion and Implications --- p.138 / Chapter 8.1 --- Success Factors Leading to Employment --- p.138 / Chapter 8.1.1 --- Culture versus Economic Incentives --- p.140 / Chapter 8.1.2 --- Family Solidarity --- p.142 / Chapter 8.1.3 --- Being-first Orientation: An Alternative to Education-first and Work-first Approach --- p.148 / Chapter 8.2 --- Barriers to Sustainable Employment and Self-Reliance --- p.155 / Chapter 8.2.1 --- Long Spell on Welfare --- p.156 / Chapter 8.2.2 --- Low Economic Incentives --- p.157 / Chapter 8.3 --- Implications and Conclusion --- p.160 / Appendix 1 The Distribution of the 40 Operating Agencies --- p.164 / Appendix 2 Questions in the Interview Guide --- p.166 / Appendix 3 Case Summary and Analysis Sheet --- p.169 / Appendix 4 Within Case Display for Participant B --- p.172 / Bibliography --- p.173

In this project a four week computer-based career assessment program was developed to equip employable welfare recipients in San Bernardino with the necessary tools to explore, seek, obtain, and maintain employment that is self-sustaining. The first three weeks of the curriculum addresses major areas of career development, while the last week focuses on job searching.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 70 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-123).

This case study examines the educational needs of students attending two social affairs schools in Quebec. The aim was to determine why these youths continue to do poorly academically and why they fail to thrive once they leave the child welfare system, as described in the literature. Individual and environmental factors that hinder academic progress were investigated ethnographically. The chronic under-achievement characteristic of youths attending the social affairs schools appears to be due to a number of individual factors such as frequent school changes as well as to the mental health model that guides the social affairs schools. This model views educational difficulties to be secondary to psycho-social familial problems. As a result, appropriate educational assessments are not conducted and little attention is given to remediating learning difficulties that may prevent successful reintegration of students into regular schools and often exacerbate family dysfunction.

Thesis (MIntStud)--University of South Australia, 2001

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 116-121). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).