I think I first encountered a systematic analysis of this gap between entitlement and delivery in the implementation of public assistance programs in the following: Piven, Frances Fox and Richard A. Cloward. _Poor People's Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail_. NY: Vintage books, 1979.
With regard to women and welfare, Linda Gordon, Mimi Abramovitz (_Regulating the Lives of Women, Social Welfare Policy from Colonial Times to the Present_), Teresa Funiciello (_Tyranny of Kindness: Dismantling the Welfare System to End Poverty in America_), etc. are useful.
>I've tried to promote the idea of local oversight boards that would be
>composed of those on these programs as well as other members of a community to
>hold government agencies accountable. To my knowledge, nothing like this
>exists, but we do need some watchdogs with the power to intervene with unfair
>bureaucracy practices and to make people aware of what their rights are.
Local oversight boards might be useful, especially for those who are already on the recipient lists. But what of people who are entitled to help but have not received it, because they don't know that it exists, or because there are too many obstacles that discourage applications, etc.?
Yoshie