Date of Award

Fall 12-15-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

History

College

College of Humanities and Fine Arts

First Advisor

Shari Orisich

Second Advisor

Louis Keiner

Abstract/Description

Public assistance programs and community-based initiatives have aided Philadelphian’s residents in a cohesive effort to fill the gaps of community-needs. While both are inherently different in their methodologies and executions, their structures are built upon a collective foundation of legislative principles and policy-based ordinances in Philadelphia. These concepts, first began with poor laws and religious organizations in the 19th century, have turned into a complex system that has fallen tremendously short of sufficiently addressing the specialized needs of Philadelphian families. The surrounding laws for public assistance program administration (e.g. TANF and WIC), are founded within the objectives of these poor laws, and they have been developed and adapted long after the introduction of these legislative concepts. Throughout this dissertation I will argue that the decentralization of public assistance policies has created a patchwork system that perpetuates inequities—further complicating the process of accessing necessary and adequate financial assistance. This has left cost-burdened Philadelphian families to rely on community-based programs (e.g. A.I.C. and L.E.A.P.) to fill these gaps. These initiatives address essential community needs, but they also serve as a stopgap that, while inherently valuable, fails to meet the extensive and specialized needs of Philadelphia’s metropolis.

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