About the author: Andrew W. Dobelstein received his PhD in Political Science from Duke University. He also received degrees from Case Western Reserve University and Valparaiso University (IN). He has been a Guest Scholar at The Brookings Institution, Washington DC. He has published six major textbooks on social welfare policy, and authored, individually or jointly, over 30 articles. He is currently a Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
2002 0-7734-7267-3 The implementation of welfare reform in North Carolina provided an excellent 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 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.