Social Welfare Programs

Q1:

Social welfare programs can generally be categorized into one of two groups. They are either classified as social insurance programs or public assistance programs. These two programs differ in terms of criteria of eligibility. Social insurance programs are generally universal, in that almost everyone can have access to these programs no matter their income and the majority of the population will be eligible one time or another during their lifetime, as long as they worked or paid into the system for at least ten years or more (Stern, 2013). Such is the case for The Social Security Act in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into existence in August of 1935. The act was created to provide for the general welfare of various kinds

of vulnerable populations included aged Americans, disabled Americans, children and adults, as well as widowed mothers and fatherless children. An example of a social insurance program that exists in present time is Unemployment Compensation, or as many people know it, UI or Unemployment Insurance. A person may receive this benefit as a result of being unemployed through no fault of their own. The cash received is typically similar albeit lower than a salary previously received; it is meant to provide a cushion in which an unemployed individual can meet their basic needs while actively seeking another job.
Public Assistance programs work differently in that one must be below a certain income level to be deemed eligible to receive benefits. Back in 1937, Subsidized Housing was created to improve living conditions for very low income families. Unfortunately, the majority of those who are eligible for this type of assistance rarely receive it, and those that do often live in deplorable conditions. A recent, more adequate example of a public assistance program is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Here a refundable tax credit is given to low-income workers with a specific emphasis on families with dependent children (Williams, Shanks and Danziger, September 9, 2014).

QB3.
One continuing problem that I would implore this country to not ignore is the disproportionate rate which African-Americans live in poverty and fare worse in comparison to white Americans as far as general quality of life. Although marginal gains were made in the post antebellum period and exponential gains were made during the Civil Rights era, African Americans still experience the largest rate of poverty with over 27% of the population. This rate is about three times the proportion of white Americans, but not very far from the rates at which Hispanics experience this (EPI, 2013).
Largely after the civil war, many Southern whites desired to maintain the status quo and continue to exclude the majority of African Americans from virtually any public welfare services.

When the Radical Republicans came into power, African Americans were admitted into institutions including insane asylums and facilities especially for the deaf, blind and mute, not to mention orphanages and hospitals, etc. The idea was to move from a system that exclusively excluded African-Americans to one that was instead segregated, but very much equal to the facilities that would take their white counterparts. “By 1890 the announced goal of southern welfare policy was the acceptance of blacks in institutions on the basis of separate but equal treatment” (Rabinowitz, 1974). Of course, in funding, facilities and often times faculty, these public welfare institutions were far from equal and inevitably aided and abetted marginality amongst African-Americans in the American South (Stern,

2013).
Having been spared the having the deal with the plight of African-Americans, the onus was initially put on to the local and state government entities. The Freedmen’s bureau, the army and northern-based organizations sent funds and other forms of charity that would eventually lead to the creation of separate but equal institutions to further care for this population (Rabinowitz, 1974) (Danziger Notes, September 23, 2014). Aid would come in the form of older, sometimes dilapidated almshouses vacated by their white counterparts. “The professed policy of separate but equal had the benefit of minimizing white hostility while still presenting the blacks with significant improvement over their treatment at the hands of earlier administration” (Rabinowitz, 1974). Cities like Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia would take the helm and provide spaces for African-Americans to receive care, but of course they were frequently far from adequate in health care delivery or proper care and services upon death. Where hospitals that catered to disabled, mentally incapacitated or otherwise infirm African-Americans were small and insufficient, cemeteries were in no better condition. The idea conclusively that having less, was somehow always better than having nothing at all, therein laid the difference between exclusion and marginalization (Danziger, September 23 2014). This kind of treatment was accepted by those in power as the status quo for 100 years until the second era I discuss, the Civil Rights era, came about. The Southern whites and inevitably the American government at –large would be forced to confront the idea of “separate but equal” and its continued marginalization of African Americans.
The Civil Rights movement and subsequent Act would change this and make this type of discrimination legislatively illegal per the US government (Morris, September 30, 2014). It was specifically Title III that ended the type of discrimination via segregation in public facilities and permitted African-Americans to be treated, housed and given disabled services in the same capacities as whites because of the mandated desegregation. The voting proviso found in Title I would allow for African Americans the right to vote for politicians who shared their interests and could aid in supporting the other provisos means to not only protect African-Americans but a number of other vulnerable populations including other people of color, poor whites, and the disabled.
Nevertheless, fifty years after the Civil Rights Act was written into law large health and poverty disparities exist in regard to the African American population, but there is a great deal that social workers can do to advocate and better the circumstances for this population, especially those in the lower economic classes. Poverty in this county, albeit a race issue, it is also very much a class issue and so implementing programs for the poor, particularly in large, urban centers can do a great deal of good for African-Americans, because these centers are usually densely populated with this population. Supporting and advocating for mixed-income housing can give African-American youth and their families their best chance at better educations, better access to quality healthcare as well as better food and overall quality of life. Very often in the US well-resourced communities are purposefully kept out of reach for people of color and poverty thus is concentrated. With mixed income housing poverty can be divided and the people who live within these kinds of spaces can tap into resources of these more affluent locales.
Because it can be very difficult to convince affluent communities of the benefit of diversifying communities, another perhaps smaller suggestion towards reducing disparities would be to advocate for better public transportation. Social workers as policy makers can make the case that things oftentimes taken for granted like mobile phones and transit cards can move mountains in regard to social mobility for many vulnerable populations. Access is integral to reducing disparities. Bettering public transportation could give marginalized communities access to spaces that have better or at least, more opportunities to jobs, proximity to spaces with quality education, higher healthcare quality better food quality, and a better chance at the pursuit of happiness.

QB6.
The case describes an immigrant family in which one of the children, a sixteen year-old teenage girl, is caught stealing.

Although she is severely beaten by her father as a result, the problem to be tackled by the intervention is instead her “kleptomania.” Although African- Americans at the time most likely would not have been treated the same way as other immigrant communities, we will assume for the sake of this prompt that the family in question would have had access to the mercy of charitable organizations and settlement houses and their respective resources (Danziger PowerPoint Notes, September 23, 2014) (Stern, 2013). Because there was a large, public outcry to stop, or at least curb to some degree, child labor, I would like to believe that the social workers given the resources would have found a way for the girl to continue her formal and music education, perhaps in a settlement house in a day program. One of the primary reasons for the girl’s stealing that was mentioned was desire to be able to afford her music education. If the parents had better jobs or something to supplement their income, the girl might not have had to leave school and find work to continue her music education which is where a charity organization or settlement house might have played a role. Settlement houses’ goals often included child and adult education, some resources the family could have definitely taken into consideration (Trattner, 1974). Kindergarten and other day care programs may

have allowed both parents to take better paying jobs. The family lived in a seemingly nice home, but there were still four other children that needed tending to and the girl’s constant stealing leaves room to wonder if the family had had other financial problems not readily seen during the social worker’s visit to their home which was found to be a clean, pleasant space that “even” had a piano.
During President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s era, it is possible that this family would have been able to take advantage of the various funds available for families with dependent children as there were five children in the household. This would have been able to alleviate financial burden on the family and thus the girl would not have felt the need to steal as her family might have been able to afford nicer things or leave her formal schooling in pursuit of domestic work so she could afford her music lessons. The presenting problem would be a family with a great deal of children and their need for assistance to do a little better than make ends meet so that their teenage daughter does not continue to steal.
In this day and age, a completely different approach to the family’s problem would most likely be presented. The father most likely would either be jailed and/or counseled (along with his child in question and his wife) because of the severe beatings he rendered on his child. In therapy/treatment a social worker would attempt to open a dialogue between him and his daughter so he could reach a deeper understanding as to why she is stealing and what can be down to curb this kind of behavior as well as why such severe punishments are not a productive or suitable method to discipline your child. Her mental status would also have been taken into account, as the report stated that she had had some “nervous breakdowns” from time to time. A social worker would be likely to look at the family’s finances to find programs that they are eligible for such as WIC, SNAP, EITC and the like to better the family’s economic stability (Stern, 2013). Given the child’s youth, a push for the child to return to school and possibly go further in her education would be of paramount importance to reverse a possible cycle of poverty. Unfortunately, if the child refused to stop stealing, she could also end up in the juvenile delinquent system and because she is near adult age, the prison system at which point it would become increasingly difficult to prevent future economic hardship in her life.
Social Work as a profession has clearly evolved over the last century. From the very first lines of the “work up” given about the family, some stark differences between now and then are presented. A black family who moved from South Carolina would not be considered an immigrant family. A conscious social worker would also not be surprised at the thought of a family like this owning a piano. The most important difference though, would be the presenting problems. In the past, Progressive and New Deal eras included the child’s “kleptomania” would have been the primary issue. In this current time, the father’s severe beatings would not go without punishment as now it is a very serious crime. Some aspects of this report are not unlike present-day. In spite of this report being written almost 100 years ago, it is interesting to see that the mother’s opinion of the situation was taken into account to get a full story. It seems the worker was aware that clinical intervention on the part of the locale was necessary. Unfortunately even in present times, this child would not have avoided the penal system. My hope would be that a proper intervention in which it was discovered why she was stealing, what kind of trauma she encountered and if the criminal behavior could have been stopped in its tracks if someone whether a parent or the social worker would have had interest in what she had to say and her feelings about her behavior.