Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/62441

KEYWORDS : public assistance;caseworker;type of discretion;distribution of resources;caseworker's specialty

The caseworker of the welfare office has a direct contact with welfare households and plays the important role in public assistance. The caseworker’s discretion has been argued with “street-level bureaucracy”. This study attempts to clarify the caseworker’s discretion by the amount of resource (time) and the strength of autonomy (independent decision-making). It reveals the type of different caseworker’s discretion in income compensation and social work. In conclusion from the type of caseworker’s discretion, income compensation is effective but social work is not sufficient. There is still room for improvement in the distribution of resources and the caseworker’s specialty.