The dynamics of dependency: Family background, family structure, and poverty

According to one view, government welfare programs of the last two decades (principally Aid to Families with Dependent Children, AFDC) have succeeded in aiding some groups but have left a residue of persons destined to perennial dependence on public support. Made up for the most part of the adult children of "welfare mothers," this subgroup has sometimes been portrayed as deficient not only in earned income but also in moral character and social behavior. They purportedly do not share society's accepted values, are often disruptive and violent, and are beyond the help of either private or public efforts to rehabilitate them.Z