THE MDRC WORK/WELFARE PROJECT: OBJECTIVES, STATUS, SIGNIFICANCE

In 1981, states, for the first time, were given an option to restructure the AFDC welfare program and require recipients to work in exchange for benefits. States have acted on this opportunity to introduce workfare or work requirements in a climate of polarized discussion and limited information. This paper summarizes the findings available from the pre-1981 demonstrations on the feasibility, impact, and cost-effectiveness of this approach. The authors conclude that these early demonstrations and evaluations provide very limited guidance to program administrators. The paper describes briefly a five-year social experiment currently under way in nine states to address the critical open policy questions through comprehensive process, impact, and benefit-cost studies.     

Characteristics of parents of adolescent incest perpetrators: Preliminary findings

Twenty-seven parents of adolescent incest perpetrators were interviewed regarding demographic characteristics, prior victimization and abuse, and attitudes about their sons engaging in incestuous behavior. Results indicated that these parents: (a) under-reported physical and sexual abuse of their sons, (b) had a high incidence of being abused themselves, and (c) demonstrate a high level of denial regarding their sons' incestuous behaviors as reflected by the finding that only 50% of the parents totally admitted to their son's incestuous behavior(s).     

The Evolution and Application of a Screening Instrument to Identify Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities

The evolution and application of this screening instrument, the Adolescent Developmental Disabilities Screening (ADDS), is based on the spectrum model of developmental disabilities. Scale construction is outlined, including the selection and revision of screening criteria and tasks. Results of multiple discriminant, factor, and correlational analyses are reported and suggest the instrument to be a powerfully discriminating measure, and reliable internally as well over time. Development and application of the measure are discussed in the context of an identified need within the juvenile justice system where the prevalence of developmental disabilities far exceeds that of the general population. The screening test appears to be well-suited for a variety of human service and educational settings.