Policies and Programs for Social Welfare

Question
For each policy (Social Security Act, Economic Opportunity Act, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act), briefly:
Explain how the policy is addressed at the federal, state, and local level. (Florida) 
What programs were developed from this policy?
Reflect on how the policy affects or may affect your community, geographic area, or potential clients.
Then, address this unique prompt for this week’s Quick Guide:
Identify one opportunity for change for one of the policies.
Note: For the Policy Quick Guides, there is no specific page count. Rather, strive to concisely capture the vital information for each policy, much like you would find in a reference book or other encyclopedia style resource. You must, however, use correct grammar and an academic writing style.
Answer
1. Social Security Act
Prior to the Social Security Act, assistance to the elderly, the chronically ill, and the needy came from family members, local town relief, charity, and mutual aid. However, public assistance was merely a minor element in these sources of aid. Most families were not able to afford to provide support and security for their elderly family members. Due to the ongoing economic hardships during the first few years, the legislations surrounding the Old Age Revolving Pensions were unpopular to the public. The bills were being constantly revised before they were legislated and the Governors in both California and Florida, states where the laws were successfully put into practice, have found the necessary criteria for the pension ridiculous and impossible to fulfill. In 1933, President Roosevelt set up the Committee on Economic Security in order to formulate new proposals for the establishment of some kind of economic security for the American people. One year later, the committee proposed several measures in order to eliminate the hazards of modern life, provide for the general welfare and protect children, the dependent, handicapped and the aged. The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. In addition to several provisions for general welfare, the new Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. I am going to provide a detailed perspective of the political and social climate that provided the framework for the new law. I will also examine in depth the provisions of the Social Security Act and attempt to justify why and how the Act was passed. In order to answer this inquiry, I am going to start by analyzing the various social groups of people in the American community and their respective attitudes to the Act. Then I would analyze the political parties, the Government, the attitude of the Supreme Court and how different states envisage about the Act. I would then link the wider picture back to the main question and form an overall conclusion.
1.1. Federal, State, and Local Addressing
The federal government delegates the responsibility to manage social welfare programs to state and local governments. Most states, except for Hawaii, have state-supervised programs for helping the needy and low-income families. There is a federal Department of Health and Human Services that works with state social welfare agencies. It is the DHS that manages the TANF program and Social Security Programs to an extent. This division has been subtle historically, but in the contemporary era, state and local agencies have been given more freedom in designing social welfare programs that cater to the needs of their own population. Such flexibility is identified as ‘state flexibility’ in the scholarly world. Furthermore, states have the option to either run the program themselves or hire a non-profit organization. This being said, social welfare in the United States, in terms of its structural construction, is highly decentralized. OTDA is established to supervise the administration and planning of social welfare programs in local agencies. Local social welfare agencies and departments are funded by local government and they offer social services. Maslow’s theory of self-actualization has been implemented in social welfare programs in the United States. Based on the idea that people strive for existence, society should help the lower stratum society with food, shelter, and other basic needs so that they can eventually achieve self-actualization. The federal social welfare policy and its programs are the results of the practical application of knowledge and the theory mentioned above. The federal government runs different kinds of social welfare programs, but state social welfare programs are various; they often have different names and differ from one state to another. Adult Protective Services or Children and Family Services are examples of local programs. These programs are funded by the Social Services Block Grant. Albeit local social programs vary across the nation, they are all designed to benefit the vulnerable groups in society. Social welfare programs mainly focus on the health and well-being of the public. Public interest and involvement are the fundamental basis of running social welfare programs. All social welfare programs require that recipients be a United States citizen or a qualified alien. Every program has its financial criteria. The applicants must fall under the financial criteria and situation in order to be a recipient. The distribution of resources is a key issue in society and has fueled philosophical debates as to what is the best way to help the greatest number of people. The emergence of capitalism brought about social reform in the shape of the New Deal. The formation of the New Deal Coalition and widespread criticism by the ‘Dixiecrats’ culminated in sweeping civil rights reforms in the 1960s. The 1960s saw an era where social welfare programs could be seen from local happenings to international implications. From the Civil Rights Movements to the Vietnam War, the war on poverty and President Johnson’s ‘Great Society’ programs have had a major impact on social welfare throughout the nation. These country-wide programs have also given more weight to state flexibility and the reformation of local programs; social welfare in the United States has reached a new height because people started to believe in the theory of Change through Social Action. The theory suggests that a social reform initiated by a powerful governing body will in turn lead to a change in social welfare provision that can be seen and implemented. Every state has different names for its social welfare programs and the programs vary from state to state. In the next section, I will demonstrate the differences between some of the local social welfare programs.
1.2. Developed Programs
As time goes on and the political and social culture continue to change, it is imperative that researchers continue to track how different programs of the Social Security Administration adopt to those changes, to better understand the impact of those changes on the different populations who benefit from the programs, and to provide new ideas for changes and new programs. It is the hope of many in the field that as progress in research is made and as new challenges emerge for the population, the next generations of programs in the field of social insurance, the programs which help work the disabled and the various programs of the SSA, will continue to increase the guards against the dependency of those most vulnerable in our society and to provide help and support to those in need.
OPC, or Older Persons’ Clinic, is a program pioneering at Connecticut and Michigan. The objective of the program is to try and create a partnership between the Social Security Administration and medical providers for early and accurate diagnosis and enhanced treatment of illness and injury in older patients. Its purpose is to shorten the period during which persons are impaired, and more importantly to avoid inappropriate hospitalization and to postpone dependency. It boasts a more widespread Chic and Non-CHIC projects. CHIC, Community Health Intervention Committee, is a service that provides needs for the poor and uninsured. It was initially part of a project funded by the federal government; however, it expanded and turned into two levels of help to the community. The main focus is prevention. On the other hand, Non-CHIC was created and has flourished under the SSA’s Benefit Expert Program. The purpose of these projects is to provide the financial and outreach benefit expertise of social work professionals to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, and caretakers in local communities. OPC and CHIC are notable for their ability to connect and establish a functioning network between different medical providers in the effective and efficient treatment and promotion of healthy living tailored to older patients, as to extend the independence period of the older patients’ pre-disability. On the other hand, Non-CHIC projects are noted for their ability to help in shaping the healthcare delivery system and for providing necessary service to allow the elderly to sustain independence and improved standard of living.
In addition to creating a financial safety net for individuals too old to work or who have lost their employment, the various reforms over time have sought to expand and change the programs focused on existing categories of aid, like single-family aid to families with dependent children into TANF. TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is a program that gives temporary financial assistance to pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children. The program is meant to help parents become self-sufficient while promoting conditions that support two-parent families. This program has been held up by proponents of the ‘devolution revolution’ because it gives extensive flexibility to the states in making decisions about how to spend the money they receive. Additionally, the states are responsible for designing their own programs, setting specific benefits levels, and establishing who is eligible for the benefits. Because TANF allows such flexibility to the states, scholars suggest that it gives the states a unique opportunity to reshape their welfare systems aggressively. It is the first of the major and minor key programs of the SSA that focus on the working-age population through the theory of social insurance.
1.3. Impact on Community
The Social Security Act, as well as the newer policies and programs established, have made a significant impact on the community: depression-era laws still being much of the programs that exist today. Public welfare in particular, which is one of the more well-known provisions within the Social Security Act, has somewhat of a dubious reputation as being a federal program designed for the poor to which both state and federal governments contribute. However, in its earliest history, public welfare was never designed with the intention that it would become today’s primary support system for the poverty stricken. For example, medical programs funded under the Social Security Act have been developed, aid to the blind was put forward, and aid to dependent children has been established.
1.4. Opportunity for Change
Before the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act is signed, it has been creating different chances for change, especially in the field of social welfare. This new act, which emphasizes the activity and responsibility of persons receiving federal assistance, continues the trend of shifting the federal government’s role in social welfare. However, the changes are not just confined to the different acts that have been made on the deep change in the overall social welfare administration in the country over the years. The policies movement from either a residual or institutional perspective to one of a workfare policy – viewing the social welfare program as a means to maintain or increase the social order through the effective use of work activities, promotion of individual responsibility, and community resources. From the past, it is clear that when there is political unrest, policies – especially the legislation and budget – will change regularly. Power is extremely vital in social welfare, and it is believed that changes are not to be made according to the needs of the poor and distrusted groups but rather the interests of the power and the higher classes. From the act of changing the different federal and state laws to the chain in either the bureaucratic or the street-level administration, the influence of policies and politics is the prime movers. The introduction of broad policy advancements to reach a workfare direction and reforms including the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act does not end the development of policies and programs but only marks the latest advancement. Programming techniques and service delivery methodologies are believed to be seriously affected by the changes in policies and change process. It is said that with every new amendment act or new act introduced, they will create different opportunities and chances for professionals who are working in the field to introduce new programs or new projects so as to exploit the benefit of the new acts. The limited extension of these benefits will create the opportunity for major providers who enjoy a close relationship with the key decision-makers or politicians to dominate the planning for the new project or proposals. It creates the difficulty for small operators who lack the necessary power and influence to suggest new programs that could compete with their existing ones and so the social welfare resource may not be effectively utilized.
2. Economic Opportunity Act
2.1. Federal, State, and Local Addressing
2.2. Developed Programs
2.3. Impact on Community
2.4. Opportunity for Change
3. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
3.1. Federal, State, and Local Addressing
3.2. Developed Programs
3.3. Impact on Community
3.4. Opportunity for Change