ABSTRACT
Even those who were the most uninformed and uninterested in the "politics of welfare", became interested and many became involved in the politics which surrounded the passage of the Social Security Amendments of 1967. In terms of national associations and federal agencies the politics of welfare may be viewed on the basis of the relationships between the few who control federal agencies and the few who occupy the leadership roles in national voluntary associations. This chapter focuses on the national voluntary association and its relationship to federal agencies with regard to eight specific aspects. They are, national voluntary association as promoter and reformer; national associations as partners of federal bureaucracy; national voluntary associations in the legislative arena; national voluntary associations in the administrative and fund allocation process; national associations as the antagonists of federal agencies; national associations as supporters of federal agencies; national associations as initiators of social policy or programs; and national associations as representatives of special interest groups.
