What's Wrong with Public Welfare?

IT Is all too evident that something is wrong with public welfare. From the taxpayer who considers it an ever increasing and unjustified addition to the tax burdens or the stern moralist who believes that current policies are encouraging idleness, shiftlessness, and immorality by offering an easy life to ne'er-do-wells, to the social worker who criticizes the low level of assistance payments, the overemphasis on eligibility determinations, the neglect of constructive social service, and the need for a "new look" at current administrative arrangements and organization, there flows today a steady stream of critical comment about current programs and policies and their implementation. About the only people from whom no one apparently has heard or bothered to hear, strangely enough, are the socalled beneficiaries of our welfare programs. I suspect that they, too, if asked, would have something to complain about. I want to emphasize the point that criticism of public welfare comes not only from those who may be described as sharing the "Newburgh point of view" but also from social workers and public welfare administrators. A recent inquiry made by the New York School of Social Work of leading administrators in public assistance and child welfare at all levels of government, and of outstanding leaders in the social welfare field, revealed unanimity on one point: all respondents thought that something was wrong, even though they placed their emphasis at different points, and on some issues were not in agreement about solutions.' During the last two