SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND SERVICES II

SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY AND SERVICES II

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A
2. B
3. A, C,…….
4. B
5. …
6. ….
7. A
8. B
9. …..
10. ……

Fill in the Blanks

1. ………
2. Xenophobia
3. Classism
4. Sexism
5. Ethnocentrism
6. Racism
7. Oppression
8. Discrimination
9. Prejudice
10. Civil rights
11. Universality
12. Universal Social Services
13. Selective social welfare programs
14. Residual Social Welfare Policy
15. Institutional Social Welfare Policy

SHORT ESSAY 1: 5 points

What impact do personal values have on the social welfare system?

Personal values, such as honesty, promote social responsibility in the welfare systems based on individual competence. The personal values, therefore, promote self-reliance in the social welfare systems to ensure that social workers are simultaneously responsible towards their clients (Zastrow, 2016). As such, personal values help resolve conflicts between the clients and other societal members in a socially respected and responsible manner. Hence, individuals in the social welfare systems are able to self-determine themselves based on their individual values to increase competence.

Moreover, personal values foster human relationships while in the social welfare systems. For instance, respect serves to appreciate roles played by other individuals towards achieving equity and advocacy (Zastrow, 2016). As such, social workers develop cordial relationships needed to engage every individual in initiatives directed towards restoring and promoting the functionality of different social groups. Personal values like stewardship play a vital role in developing and maintaining positive relationships despite challenges in the social welfare systems. Consequently, personal values help promote patience and communicative nature due to their critical role in social welfare systems.

Personal values such as integrity promote continuous awareness to achieve set goals and objectives for a social welfare system. The values ensure that social workers adhere to ethical standards needed to improve the overall competency of societal settings (Zastrow, 2016). So, the values encourage stakeholders to continually raise awareness on their welfare’s mission and vision into the future. Therefore, the values help social workers to conduct themselves in the best mannerism to ensure they portray a positive picture of the social welfare systems. Workers can, therefore, specialize in their area of expertise to ensure they articulate dire concerns.

Reference

Zastrow, C. (2016). Empowerment Series: Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People. Cengage Learning.

SHORT ESSAY 2: 10 points

How can social empathy assist in policy development?

Social empathy is the ability to comprehend individuals based on their perceived experiences and life experiences. Hence, social empathy requires persons to draw a deep insight into available disparities and structural inequalities to develop a contextual understanding of the prevailing situations (Gerdes & Segal, 2011). In most cases, interpersonal empathy serves as the building block required to develop a macro-perspective on prevailing situations. Social empathy is needed to help individuals understand how others feel to help respond appropriately to other diverse situations. Hence, empathy is directly associated with social behaviours depicted with high understanding leading to desirable individual behaviors. Consequently, our ability to understand others proves essential in how other persons perceive us based on behavioral characteristics.

Importance of empathy to a social worker

Empathy helps improve effectiveness to social workers in policy development. Research shows that clients subjected to empathy are likely to improve outcomes since empathic social workers efficiently articulate concerns in policy development programs. Empathy is required to create social connections with others during the policy development process to help achieve set objectives efficiently (Gerdes & Segal, 2011). As such, empathy plays a crucial role in ensuring stakeholders comply with social and legal requirements in their quest to develop goodwill to every social worker. By understanding other people’s feelings, a social worker is capable of responding to situations experienced in policy development. Hence, social workers would carry out intensive research on the policy development process to identify pertinent information required to achieve stipulated changes. In such a case, empathy successfully controls individual emotions to allow social workers to manage situations without being overwhelmed. So, empathy plays a crucial role in managing individual perception without infringing on other people’s rights.

Empathy is important for a social worker in the policy development process since it reduces cognitive biases. The environment surrounding social workers is perceived to be influenced by cognitive biases, which results from an error in thinking and information interpretation. In policy development, cognitive biases arise from an individual’s attempt to process information through a simplified manner; thus, the need to apply empathy (Cherry, 2019). Empathy is required by social workers to avoid attributing the failures of other people based on their internal characteristics. As such, empathy is utilized by a social worker to comprehend factors culminating in the overall situation and help perceive a situation from a different dimension. Hence, the use of empathy ensures that social workers contribute towards policy development with a deep insight into the issue at hand.

Finally, empathy is fundamental for any social worker since it helps a social worker balance their roles in policy development relative to societal duties. As such, social workers are required to learn practitioners’ skills, which are essential to provide improved services to the client populations. However, in some cases, empathy can be selective; hence individuals tend to be empathetic towards specific groups having similar affiliations (Cherry, 2019). In such a case, there is a need to avoid harming other individuals who feel left out during the policy development process. Social workers need to regulate their emotions in a manner that does not portray cognitive bias to avoid selfish gains. As a result, empathy is critical in synthesizing information stipulated by social workers in an attempt to produce desirable recommendations to a given course of action.

References

Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011). Importance of empathy for social work practice: Integrating new science. Social Work, 56(2), 141-148.

Cherry, K. (2019). Why Is It Important to Use Empathy in Certain Situations? Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-empathy-2795562

SHORT ESSAY 3: 10 Points

Costs and benefits of social welfare

Residual social welfare (TANF)

The cost of residue social welfare towards the TANF program in the US is quite massive. The high costs have compelled the US government to force the beneficiaries of the program to work whenever possible. The workers are forced to work within the stipulated timeframes or risk being denied the benefits for an agreed period of time (Adler, 2016). However, the household that qualifies for the social benefits is either provided free of charge of at a subsidized cost. The friendly cost has ensured that the US government fulfills its social obligation to its citizens based on available resources. Besides, the oversight cost is usually high due to the numerous factors considered while collecting evidence of need cases in the country (Regoli, 2018). Hence, a push for accountability has increased the cost of implementing residue social welfare through the TANF program.

Residual social welfare benefits individuals during their greatest time of need since it is a long-term income solution. The residual approach to social welfare ensures that aid is provided during dire situations that need government intervention. The TANF program ensures the government helps children whose parents are either not there or cannot provide for some of the basic needs (Adler, 2016). As such, the assistance program serves to address people’s needs when most needed. Also, residue social welfare has caps relative to welfare benefits to prevent fraud and long-term acquisition of benefits. For instance, the TANF program has ensured that Massachusetts households having a single parent are subject to a $478 stipend on a monthly basis. In case a family has two children under the program’s care, an additional $100 is provided to prevent fraud in social welfare (Regoli, 2018).

Institutional social welfare (fire department)

The cost of running institutional social welfare is massive, with the US government spending huge amounts of money to improve its fire departments. The social welfare incurs marginal costs while improving service delivery and addressing the financial concerns of its workers. The high costs of running the institutional programs are worrying despite the welfare’s social implications. The spending by both the national and local governments in the US has pushed the figure to over $1 trillion per year (Regoli, 2018). However, the US government is committed to continuously provide social welfare services with the aim of fulfilling its social responsibility to its citizens. The fire department is among the 126 welfare programs financed by the US government to articulate the needs of low-income individuals in the US.

Institutional social welfare is beneficial since it reduces crime in low-income societies. The institutionalized approach to social welfare provides support to individuals in the fire department as a normalized aspect in the society. In the US, there is a direct correlation between welfare payments and crime rates in some of the low-income neighborhoods. Crimes in the fire department reduce once their personnel are subject to welfare payments, thus reducing criminal activities due to the dire need of financial support. Besides, welfare benefits from institutionalized social welfare supplement the income of personnel working in the fire department. Consequently, the benefits help increase awareness of the life-saving benefits of working in smoke-related environments (Adler, 2016). So, institutional social welfare provides monetary security to personnel working in its fire department.

References

Adler, M. (2016). Cost-Benefit Analysis and Social Welfare Functions | The Regulatory Review. Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://www.theregreview.org/2016/09/19/adler-cost-benefit-analysis-and-social-welfare-functions/

Regoli, N. (2018). 20 Advantages and Disadvantages of Welfare. Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://futureofworking.com/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-welfare/

SHORT ESSAY 4: 20 Points

Introduction

The critical model is an inherent discerning mode which improves thinking quality by imposing intellectual standards meant to solve a given problem. As such, the critical model utilizes significant elements such as purpose, assumptions, and point of view to make the best out of the thinking process. Besides, social welfare policy refers to laws and rules aimed at improving the lives of people in society. For instance, the critical model has been used by TANF to reach out to poor families through the provision of a block grant. Therefore, several terms have been used by the critical model to exemplify the social welfare policy through the TANF program.

Application of the critical model to TANF social welfare policy

Social problem

TANF utilizes a critical model in its social welfare policy to fight against poverty through the provision of temporal safety to poor families (Floyd, Burnside & Schott, 2018). The critical model improves the quality of thinking to meet the needs of poor families not capable of having their basic necessities. Over the year’s poverty has proved to be a critical social problem due to the ever-increasing gap in societal classes.  As such, the critical thinking model should be used to reduce the number of individuals below the poverty line to improve the program’s effectiveness.

Power imbalance or struggle

The critical model has been utilized by the poor people targeted by the TANF program to exemplify the impact of power imbalances due to income disparities. The power imbalances tend to favor individuals with high incomes, thus alienating individuals under the social welfare program. So, social welfare policies have been affected by power struggles depicted by the lower social classes, thus suppressing persons with little financial strength (Blau & Abramovitz, 2010). Hence, the critical model aims at developing social constructs to outline power differences relative to specific social policies. In such a case, the model spearheads to promote power equity to persons living below the poverty line.

Public reaction

A deep insight is developed by the critical model to ensure the public develops a positive attitude towards initiatives undertaken by TANF. However, the public is tired of the problems hampering the welfare policy development process based on challenges experienced in the past. The public expects that a critical model must be utilized to provide a long-term solution to problems hampering social welfare like TANF (Floyd, Burnside & Schott, 2018). The negative public reaction has been necessitated by the inaccessibility nature of the programs due to changes in the state policies. A public outcry has been caused by TANF failure to lift families from acute poverty compared to its predecessor.

Policies, public laws, or administrative rules

The critical model needs to be applied to TANF restrictive policies by changing the thinking design to articulate the concerns of the poor. Policies have been developed, which makes it hard for members to leave the program into the labor market due to increased homelessness among members (Segal, 2010). Also, public laws on social welfare must be granted as stipulated by critical models to ensure the members’ basic needs are met within the required timelines. As such, critical thinking must be utilized to alter the punitive working requirements as stipulated by the administrative laws.

Implementation of social welfare programs

Critical models play an integral role in the implementation of the social welfare program. For instance, the critical model ensured that TANF utilized block grants as part of its personal responsibility through the work opportunity and reconciliation act developed in 1996 (Blau & Abramovitz, 2010). As such, the implementation process utilized critical thinking to identify and provide welfare cash to the less fortunate children in the society. The program was, therefore, jointly funded by the federal state in a move to provide cash assistance to low-income families. The joint venture aimed at promoting equity among all citizens despite social inequalities.

Actual impact

Failure to use critical models has resulted in black families having restricted access to TANF assistance compared to white households. Hence, there is a need to create thinking structures that do not alienate specific members of society at the expense of others. TANF assistance has therefore been subjected to crisis due to inequality cases and decline in assistance due to policy changes experienced in the modern era (Floyd, Burnside & Schott, 2018). The federal government has since been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that low-income families receive the necessary support to meet basic needs at the household level.

Legislative intended impact

The government intends to create laws ensuring that every low-income family receive stipends from the government to meet their basic needs. Also, the government intends to hold specific agencies responsible for any misconduct which hinders families from receiving monetary support. Besides, the law stipulates to create standards that must be upheld by any low-income family to qualify for the support offered by the government (Blau & Abramovitz, 2010). as such, the legislature postulates the uphold the best interest of the low-income families due to their vulnerability. The laws postulate to create a positive impact by promoting equity among all societal members despite disparities in their social classes.

Public expectations

The public expects that the government is in a position to address differences in societal classes by ensuring social welfare policies are enacted based on the public best interests. Also, the public expects that the critical model would be utilized in social welfare policies to create required awareness levels that promote transparency (Segal, 2010). As such, the public would be in a position to articulate negative perceptions of the TANF program to create desirable outcomes through increased cooperation with governmental agencies. Public expectations play a critical role in spearheading the enactment of legislative laws governing social welfare.

Affected populations

The use of critical models in social welfare effects such as low-income families and agencies mandated to carry out the program. The few poor families are required to provide proof that they are really a low-income earning household to receive stipends provided by the government. Also, the population receiving less than average monetary access from TANF is of great interest. The government requires such data to know the exact figure of individuals in need of support from the government (Segal, 2010). The above-affected population would help the government outline why access to TANF has decreased over the past years.

Conclusion

The critical model has been outlined to illustrate how it would be utilized in developing social welfare policy in the TANF program. The program seeks to provide financial support to families living below the poverty line to promote equality among the different social classes in the US. Therefore, laws should be developed based on the critical model to ensure they meet the needs of low-income families to promote equality.

References

Floyd, I., Burnside, A., & Schott, L. (2018). Policy Brief: TANF Reaching Few Poor Families. Retrieved 4 March 2020, from https://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/policy-brief-tanf-reaching-few-poor-families

Blau, J., & Abramovitz, M. (2010). The dynamics of social welfare policy. Oxford University Press, USA.

Segal, E. A. (2010). Social welfare policy and social programs: A values perspective. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.