The West Virginia University Interdisciplinary Research Task Force on Welfare Reform has received $13,640 in additional funding from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Children and Families. Task Force members are faculty from the sociology, social work and public administration programs in the School of Applied Social Sciences, housed in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

This is the sixth grant the research group has received from WVDHHR . The grant will enable the task force to complete a case study of the county welfare offices in West Virginias Region 4, which includes 13 southern counties that are some of the most economically disadvantaged in the state. Focus groups will be held with caseworkers to find out more about their philosophies, policies and practices.

This is a continuation. Our first four studies were with welfare recipients. The next step is to look at the people delivering the services,said Dr. Melissa Latimer, team leader and WVU associate professor of sociology and adjunct professor of womens studies.

The task force was established after federal legislation in the mid-1990s led to nationwide changes in welfare policy. The group has produced numerous studies and has become a strong voice of program and policy evaluation in West Virginia and beyond. The teams research was also featured in an article in The Washington Post .

Other members of the task force include: Dr. Eleanor Blakely, associate professor of social work; Dr. Barry Locke, associate professor of social work; and Dr. L. Christopher Plein, chair and associate professor of public administration.

For more information about the WVU Interdisciplinary Research Task Force on Welfare Reform, contact Dr. Latimer at (304) 293-5801, ext. 3209, or at Melissa.Latimer@mail.wvu.edu .