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Background and Objectives Reverse mortgages are loans that allow older homeowners to borrow from their home equity with no repayment due until the borrower dies or moves out of the home. We currently know very little about how homeowners evaluate and experience reverse mortgages as solutions to their financial and housing needs in later life. Furthermore, despite an increasingly diverse population of reverse mortgage borrowers, we know little about how social inequalities may contribute to reverse mortgage decisions and their outcomes. In this paper, we examine reverse mortgage decision-making and experiences in a racially and economically diverse sample of older US homeowners. Research Design and Methods We conducted 44 in-depth interviews with older homeowners who were considering or who had obtained a reverse mortgage loan. We inductively and iteratively developed a thematic coding scheme that was applied to all interview transcripts. Results Our analysis produced a dichotomous schema of reverse mortgage decision making that was shaped by social and economic opportunities and constraints. For some participants, reverse mortgages represented strategic tools used to maximize home equity and its benefits. For others, it was an option of last resort to which participants turned when faced with the imminent loss of their home. Discussion and Implications Focusing on reverse mortgages, our analysis suggests way that social inequalities may be reproduced through financial decisions and the unequal landscapes of opportunity in which they are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This research addresses how younger and older adults' decisions and evaluations of gains and losses are affected by the way in which monetary incentives are provided. We compared 2 common incentive schemes in decision making: pay one (only a single decision is incentivized) and pay all (incentives across all decisions are accumulated). Method Younger adults (18–36 years; n = 147) and older adults (60–89 years; n = 139) participated in either a pay-one or pay-all condition and made binary choices between two-outcome monetary lotteries in gain, loss, and mixed domains. We analyzed participants' decision quality, risk taking, and psychometric test scores. Computational modeling of cumulative prospect theory served to measure sensitivity to outcomes and probabilities, loss aversion, and choice sensitivity. Results Decision quality and risk aversion were higher in the gain than mixed or loss domain, but unaffected by age. Loss aversion was higher, and choice sensitivity was lower in older than younger adults. In the pay-one condition, the value functions were more strongly curved, and choice sensitivity was higher than in the pay-all condition. Discussion An opportunity of accumulating incentives has similar portfolio effects on younger and older adults' decisions. In general, people appear to decide less cautiously in pay-all than pay-one scenarios. The impact of different incentive schemes should be carefully considered in aging and decision research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the authors discuss the importance of the temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) program in providing support to low-income families with children in the U.S. The program replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). Other topics include the adverse effects of systemic racism on American society and how TANF is providing funds to social services of states.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is a federal block grant to the states, with a required state contribution. Although often viewed as a cash assistance program with work requirements and services targeted at extremely low-income families with children, only about one-quarter of all state and federal TANF funds are now used for traditional cash aid. Uses of funds vary widely by state, and alternatives range from refundable tax credits to support of state child welfare systems. In this article, the author examines the relationship between state categorical TANF spending and key social, political, and economic characteristics using data from 2015 to 2017 and multilevel linear models. Racial and ethnic demographics of the cash assistance caseload are associated with differences in spending, with states with larger proportions of the caseload composed of people of color devoting a lower percentage of effort to traditional benefits and more to alternative cash transfers. Changes in unemployment rate within states are associated with greater spending on basic assistance and reduced spending on alternative transfers. These findings indicate that, although TANF cash benefits spending may be economically responsive within the program's overall flexible structure, spending patterns raise issues of equity for disadvantaged families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the regional differences in economic development across the United States, which have been a unique feature of American economic history. The paths of both convergence and divergence by region have been driven by a complex mix of differences in resource endowments, demographic differences, international and internal migration patterns, and variation in the scope and impact of government policies at the local, state, and federal level. We show that the development of a national and fully integrated economy have accelerated and decelerated over time, and these features are driven by unique sets of historical circumstances and policy choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberal political reasoning is remaking the state's democratic character and its governing rules to reflect those of the market. The most prominent legislative example, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, dictates work requirements, time limits, and monitoring and sanctioning of clients. Through such policies, the primary aims of government assistance changed from aiding needy citizens to transforming individuals into paid workers, regardless of continued poverty or care obligations. Although scholarship of related policy and governance tools has grown, less study has centered on understanding the historic events and ways in which race-based, gendered, and poverty narratives facilitated adoption of such austere policies. This article compares circumstances of African American and White mothers in the United States from the Revolutionary War to the postwelfare era. It describes what neoliberalism is, discusses the role of ideological discourses in policy and governance, presents the history and historical racialized portrayals of White and African American motherhood during this period, and analyzes the differential impact of ideological discourses using a lens of intersectionality. The conclusion discusses how discriminatory discourses subvert a democratic ethos for all and suggests ways for social workers to contest the impacts of neoliberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Little is reported about the family’s role in preparation for future care (PFC) before the onset of care needs. The primary aim was to examine the relationships between PFC and different types of family support exchanged with generations both above and below. Method Path analysis was conducted on 516 Chinese baby boomers aged 45–65 to examine the associations between PFC (care expectation, awareness, information gathering, and decision making) and 4 types of family support (instrumental support, financial assistance, information and appraisal, and emotional support) when the covariates were controlled for. Results The current planning status and planning paths are consistent with those of the U.S. and European populations. Providing instrumental support to a parent was positively associated with awareness of care needs. Providing emotional support to a child was negatively associated with information gathering. In general, receiving support from a child facilitated PFC. Although those receiving emotional support from an adult child had less awareness of care needs, they displayed more information gathering. Discussion The role of family support in PFC is more subtle than simply increasing and decreasing resource volumes. Future research is needed to better understand this complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Parents of sons and daughters with disabilities have ongoing financial burdens and vulnerability due to the demands of caregiving responsibilities and their related direct and indirect costs. This study aims to investigate whether midlife and older parents of individuals with a mental health problem or a developmental disability were particularly vulnerable to the impact of the recession. Research Design and Methods: The data were drawn from Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a longitudinal survey of a national probability sample in the United States, Waves II (2004-2006) and III (2013-2014; 84 parents of individuals with a mental health problem, 98 parents of individuals with a developmental disability, and 2,029 parents of individuals without any conditions as a comparison group). Results: The findings suggest that the midlife and older parents whose son or daughter had a mental health problem experienced more recession impacts than comparison parents, even after controlling prerecession financial status and sociodemographic characteristics. Discussion and Implications: The results indicate the need for policies that provide effective financial support and reduce restrictions on health service access in order to relieve the financial burden experienced by midlife and older parents of individuals with a mental health problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although national housing markets have recovered from the Great Recession, communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis remain immersed in mortgage trouble. Nineteen percent of homeowners are underwater on their mortgages and communities of color are overrepresented among zip codes still experiencing default in rising numbers. The social services needs of homeowners at risk of foreclosure show few signs of abating. High levels of market risk, asymmetrical power relationships, and the assumption that rational action can protect homeowners mark the climate in which households and social workers operate while attempting to halt foreclosure. The research described in this article draws on in-depth interviews conducted with homeowners at risk of default to examine the strategies they used to alleviate their mortgage strain. These strategies included seeking aid from financial and social services institutions while living under threat of default. As homeowners experienced mortgage strain they engaged in recommended rational market actions such as negotiating with lenders, increasing work hours, practicing strict household budgeting, and seeking aid from social work agencies to offset mortgage costs. The gathered data suggest that some social workers responded with poorly contextualized treatment plans and language characterized by disrespect, shame, and blame; others responded with mental health assistance, referrals to legal aid, and a helping relationship characterized by a sense of mattering that seemed to buffer against the psychosocial stressors associated with foreclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Payday loans refer to small-dollar, high-interest, short-term loans usually extended to lower-income consumers. Despite much research to the contrary, the payday loan industry asserts that it primarily serves middle-class Americans. This article discusses the authors' investigation of the industry's claim, by analyzing data from a U.S. bankruptcy court serving a Southern district. Results of the multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that, controlling for various sociodemographic and economic variables, two middle-class indicators—homeownership and annual income at or greater than the median income—are associated with a decreased likelihood of using payday loans. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for social work practice and advocacy in regard to financial capability, particularly asset development, income maintenance, and payday loan regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]