Hidden Agenda: Content and Nature of the Income Maintenance (IM) Worker's Job

摘要

As part of the effort by the Office of Family Assistance to assist State agencies in reviewing and improving their administrative practices, this paper attempts to clarify the nature of the income maintenance worker's (or eligibility worker's) function. Eligibility workers are the State or local agency employees who are responsible for determining which families are eligible for financial assistance under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). An income maintenance (IM) worker may be responsible for approximately 150 families, which represents expenditures of $36,610 per month and $463,320 per year. To provide background information as a basis for reexamining the IM worker's job, this paper discusses the sources used to collect data and study the IM worker's position, three selected elements of the job (information processing, the client, the work environment), the use of a conceptual framework for viewing and analyzing the job, requirements of the position (knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes), and preparation for the job. The sources of information about the IM worker's job include position descriptions from 34 States, a critique session with a selected group of IM workers and supervisors, the income maintenance tasks in the National Task Bank (containing about 1,100 individual tasks performed by public welfare service deliverers), a position classification study, and a job analysis survey. Appendices contain job descriptions of the eligibility technician I and the financial worker I, a discussion guide, a summary of the eligibility worker's role, questions for discussion, references, and related material. Some footnotes are included.