The 1996 Federal Welfare Reform in North Carolina: The Politics of Bureaucratic Behavior (Mellen Studies in Social Work, 3)

The implementation of welfare reform in North Carolina provided an opportunity to explore theories of welfare reform implementation and theories of bureaucratic power. While welfare reform implementation proceeded smoothly in many states, the unique political climate in North Carolina in 1996 forced a more transparent view of bureaucratic development and growing political independence. The political capacity of the bureaucracy to influence policy implementation contrary to legislative intent is often discussed but infrequently documented, and this work opens this subject for additional debate.