FINAL
Define social welfare policy – (provide an in depth answer describing what social welfare policy means and define why it's necessary).
According to Barker (1999) social welfare policy is; “a nation’s system of programs, benefits, and services that help people meet those social, economic, education and health needs that are fundamental to the maintenance of society.” (Barker, 1999). My interpretation of social welfare policy is much more real, having experienced the social welfare system personally. I view social welfare policy as services and assistance partially funded by tax payers and delineated based on strict regulations. Social welfare policy is surrounded by harsh stigma and is a very controversial topic. Many people today are still going without assistance that deserve it and need it to provide for themselves and their families but on the other side, there are many who take advantage of the system and reap its benefits without any drive to rise above social welfare. Social welfare policy essentially has two major purposes; “social treatment (helping) and social control” (Day, 2009). We often look at the social treatment aspect social welfare before the social control aspect, this control aspect is what causes controversy among citizens and instead of bringing communities together to help one another, and instead turns people against each other. Social welfare policy is necessary because without, millions of people would go without necessary life needs. There would be many more people in poverty, many people would go hungry without funds for food and the homeless population would explode. Along with this lack of food and shelter there would be an increase in need for health care and without health care many of these people would die at an early age, especially babies and children in this situation. With a lack of assistance many communities would suffer and the overall well-being of the community would deteriorate. Finding a balance in social welfare is key to providing fair assistance options to those in need without negatively affecting those who do not utilize these benefits (tax payers). Finding an agreement and common ground among those in need and those who fund these programs is crucial to eliminating stigma and the creation of a helpful, supportive community.
What have you learned about your role in social welfare policy as both an individual and as social worker?
I have learned a great deal about my role in social welfare policy as an individual and as a social worker. As an individual, the stigma I have associated with social welfare in the past has diminished and I have a much more open mind when it comes to social welfare assistance. I understand the importance of programs such as TANF, Medicaid, WIC etc. and their influence on the community. Although my change in attitude does not reflect the attitude of many that still view the social welfare system as a burden on society only adding to the deficit by providing services to those too “lazy” to work or supporting babies that shouldn’t have been brought into this world. Sadly this is the attitude of a large portion of society so as a member of society I am able to use my knowledge that I have gained and raise awareness of the importance of the social welfare system in preserving the well-being of the community.
My role as a social worker is much more influential. I am encouraged as a social worker to work at the macro level promoting change and acceptance of the social welfare system. I have learned the many ways that social workers contribute to the social welfare policy not only in providing services but in the policy making process. According to Barker (1999), social workers, “help people increase their capacities for problem solving and coping, and they help them obtain needed resources, facilitate interactions between individuals and between people and their environments, make organizations responsible to people, and influence social policies” (Barker, 1999). This is encouraging to me as I enter the social work field. According to The Journal of Social Psychology, “Social workers and welfare recipients operate within the same institutional framework and share a working and/or lived knowledge of poverty, but they occupy different social and economic positions.”(Bullock, 2004), this understanding that I have gained will allow me to better understand the needs and attitudes of the welfare recipients and be able to address issues in current policy and advocate for change.
Who does social welfare policy affect?
Everyone. Social welfare policy affects everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, demographic, age, race or ethnicity. Every person is affected in one way or another whether they are the ones receiving the assistance, the ones being denied assistance, or the ones paying taxes to fund the assistance. The overall well-being of the community as a whole is affected by social welfare policy. Redistribution in social policy is key to understanding who is affected and how they are affected. According to Social Work, “everyone is on welfare” (Abramovitz, 2001) the redistribution of aid and funds affects essentially everyone; those reaping the benefits and those funding the efforts. Many think that social welfare policy only positively affects the poor by providing them assistance but in reality many middle and upper-class programs receive the most funding, “The social welfare system-direct public provision of cash and in-kind benefits to individuals and families, free or at below market cost-is popularly regarded as serving only poor people. However, the record shows that social welfare programs serving the middle and upper classes receive more government funding, pay higher benefits, and face fewer budget cuts than programs serving only poor people.” (Abramovitz, 2001). Even those that do not receive welfare assistance are still being affected by social welfare policy through tax hikes and cuts. Often times when instating policies government underestimates the cost of the implementation of these policies therefore the funding comes from the tax payer. According to Studies in American Political Development, “because there are limits to how much revenue can be raised with progressive income taxes, many industrialized countries finance large social programs through contributory finance, that is, payroll taxes.” (Campbell, 2005) , this is an example of how everyone in the working population is affected by social welfare policy. Through government regulations all working American’s are required to pay taxes to support programs that they may need to utilize in the future. The problem is that much of the upper-class feel that they will never need to utilize these services and therefore don’t think that they should have to pay to support others. Overall social welfare policy affects everyone in several ways and dependent on how the system affects an individual determines their outlook on the social welfare system.
References
Abramovitz, M. (2001, October). Everyone is still on welfare: The role of redistribution in social policy. Social Work, pp. 297-308.
Barker, R. L. (1999). The Social Work Dictionary. NASW Press.
Bullock, H. E. (2004, December). From the Front Lines of Welfare Reform: An Analysis of Social Worker and Welfare Recipient Attitudes. The journal of social psychology, pp. 571-588.
Campbell, A. L. (2005, FALL). Financing the Welfare State: Elite Politics and the Decline of the Social Insurance Model in America. Studies in American political development, p. 173.
Day, P. J. (2009). A New History of Social Welfare.
Karger, H. J., & Stoesz, D. (2010). American social welfare policy: A pluralistic approach. Allyn & Bacon.
According to Barker (1999) social welfare policy is; “a nation’s system of programs, benefits, and services that help people meet those social, economic, education and health needs that are fundamental to the maintenance of society.” (Barker, 1999). My interpretation of social welfare policy is much more real, having experienced the social welfare system personally. I view social welfare policy as services and assistance partially funded by tax payers and delineated based on strict regulations. Social welfare policy is surrounded by harsh stigma and is a very controversial topic. Many people today are still going without assistance that deserve it and need it to provide for themselves and their families but on the other side, there are many who take advantage of the system and reap its benefits without any drive to rise above social welfare. Social welfare policy essentially has two major purposes; “social treatment (helping) and social control” (Day, 2009). We often look at the social treatment aspect social welfare before the social control aspect, this control aspect is what causes controversy among citizens and instead of bringing communities together to help one another, and instead turns people against each other. Social welfare policy is necessary because without, millions of people would go without necessary life needs. There would be many more people in poverty, many people would go hungry without funds for food and the homeless population would explode. Along with this lack of food and shelter there would be an increase in need for health care and without health care many of these people would die at an early age, especially babies and children in this situation. With a lack of assistance many communities would suffer and the overall well-being of the community would deteriorate. Finding a balance in social welfare is key to providing fair assistance options to those in need without negatively affecting those who do not utilize these benefits (tax payers). Finding an agreement and common ground among those in need and those who fund these programs is crucial to eliminating stigma and the creation of a helpful, supportive community.
What have you learned about your role in social welfare policy as both an individual and as social worker?
I have learned a great deal about my role in social welfare policy as an individual and as a social worker. As an individual, the stigma I have associated with social welfare in the past has diminished and I have a much more open mind when it comes to social welfare assistance. I understand the importance of programs such as TANF, Medicaid, WIC etc. and their influence on the community. Although my change in attitude does not reflect the attitude of many that still view the social welfare system as a burden on society only adding to the deficit by providing services to those too “lazy” to work or supporting babies that shouldn’t have been brought into this world. Sadly this is the attitude of a large portion of society so as a member of society I am able to use my knowledge that I have gained and raise awareness of the importance of the social welfare system in preserving the well-being of the community.
My role as a social worker is much more influential. I am encouraged as a social worker to work at the macro level promoting change and acceptance of the social welfare system. I have learned the many ways that social workers contribute to the social welfare policy not only in providing services but in the policy making process. According to Barker (1999), social workers, “help people increase their capacities for problem solving and coping, and they help them obtain needed resources, facilitate interactions between individuals and between people and their environments, make organizations responsible to people, and influence social policies” (Barker, 1999). This is encouraging to me as I enter the social work field. According to The Journal of Social Psychology, “Social workers and welfare recipients operate within the same institutional framework and share a working and/or lived knowledge of poverty, but they occupy different social and economic positions.”(Bullock, 2004), this understanding that I have gained will allow me to better understand the needs and attitudes of the welfare recipients and be able to address issues in current policy and advocate for change.
Who does social welfare policy affect?
Everyone. Social welfare policy affects everyone regardless of socioeconomic status, demographic, age, race or ethnicity. Every person is affected in one way or another whether they are the ones receiving the assistance, the ones being denied assistance, or the ones paying taxes to fund the assistance. The overall well-being of the community as a whole is affected by social welfare policy. Redistribution in social policy is key to understanding who is affected and how they are affected. According to Social Work, “everyone is on welfare” (Abramovitz, 2001) the redistribution of aid and funds affects essentially everyone; those reaping the benefits and those funding the efforts. Many think that social welfare policy only positively affects the poor by providing them assistance but in reality many middle and upper-class programs receive the most funding, “The social welfare system-direct public provision of cash and in-kind benefits to individuals and families, free or at below market cost-is popularly regarded as serving only poor people. However, the record shows that social welfare programs serving the middle and upper classes receive more government funding, pay higher benefits, and face fewer budget cuts than programs serving only poor people.” (Abramovitz, 2001). Even those that do not receive welfare assistance are still being affected by social welfare policy through tax hikes and cuts. Often times when instating policies government underestimates the cost of the implementation of these policies therefore the funding comes from the tax payer. According to Studies in American Political Development, “because there are limits to how much revenue can be raised with progressive income taxes, many industrialized countries finance large social programs through contributory finance, that is, payroll taxes.” (Campbell, 2005) , this is an example of how everyone in the working population is affected by social welfare policy. Through government regulations all working American’s are required to pay taxes to support programs that they may need to utilize in the future. The problem is that much of the upper-class feel that they will never need to utilize these services and therefore don’t think that they should have to pay to support others. Overall social welfare policy affects everyone in several ways and dependent on how the system affects an individual determines their outlook on the social welfare system.
References
Abramovitz, M. (2001, October). Everyone is still on welfare: The role of redistribution in social policy. Social Work, pp. 297-308.
Barker, R. L. (1999). The Social Work Dictionary. NASW Press.
Bullock, H. E. (2004, December). From the Front Lines of Welfare Reform: An Analysis of Social Worker and Welfare Recipient Attitudes. The journal of social psychology, pp. 571-588.
Campbell, A. L. (2005, FALL). Financing the Welfare State: Elite Politics and the Decline of the Social Insurance Model in America. Studies in American political development, p. 173.
Day, P. J. (2009). A New History of Social Welfare.
Karger, H. J., & Stoesz, D. (2010). American social welfare policy: A pluralistic approach. Allyn & Bacon.
Video by Alaina Baker
4710 Social Policy Final Video