Welfare Poverty Paper

Mandy Sanguigni

Dr. Park

SOC 101

Welfare Poverty Paper

Has Welfare Reform Helped to Alleviate Poverty?

Imagine yourself living on $14,000 each year under the poverty line. One might have trouble paying for child care, medical assistance, or even feeding their own children. One might struggle in finding a stable job or have a difficult time paying for social security income. The following paper will discuss, how welfare and poverty have affected the United States, what type of people are affected in the process, and how one can help provide cash payments for needy families who are under the given poverty line.

What does it mean to have poverty? Poverty can mean several things depending on how one views poverty. One might believe it classifies

one to be extremely poor. On the other hand, one might believe it’s when one lacks the amount of money or possessions to support their daily life. The group related presentation was mainly focused on the poverty line in certain areas of the world. Poverty line is where one has a minimum level of income that is needed to secure the necessities of living. The presentation concentrated on whether welfare reform came in the form of personal responsibilities and work opportunities for the reconciliation act of 1996 for “Aid to families with dependent children” which was later renamed as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. A summary slide was focused on in the group presentation. Many states are enabled to provide cash welfare payments for needy children who have been deprived of support or care because their father or mother were absent from the home, deceased, or unemployed. For a majority all states are required to provide aid to all families who are eligible depending on one’s income and resources within the given state-set limits. During the 1990s, the government was able to decide whether to increase or decrease its authority to waive portions of the federal requirements to expand earning income. This would demonstrate increased work requirements, time limited to benefits, and expanding access to child care and medical assistance. When receiving specific waivers, the states were required to evaluate the impacts of these given changes on the welfare receipt, employment records, and the earnings given to those participants. Overall, the goal was to focus on preventing poor families from placing their children in orphanages in exchange for a direct cash payment.
A few interesting facts stated in the given presentation slides are about income with single-parent families, indicated that one in every five American children live in a household with a family of four are below the poverty line of $22,050. Researchers believe that not only on a daily basis many poor children are struggling, but expects worry that many will suffer from lifelong effects from early withdrawal. Also, there are concerns revolving around child poverty because some assume they are strongly under a push for sweeping budget cuts, reductions in spending food stamps, and other anti-poverty programs.
How is a work requirement influencing the end of welfare?

One might believe that work requirements do little work for those under the poverty line. Others may believe they increase the chance of job opportunity. Many experts believe that work-capability can work or prepare in exchange for receiving government benefits. The welfare law requires cash assistance to participate in work activities, for extending similar work requirements to other public programs. However, one who supports the view that work requirements are highly effected can be explained later on in this paper. For example; most recipients with significant obstacles to employment never found work even after participating in work programs that were otherwise successful. Over the long term, the successful programs support efforts to boost the education and skills of work requirements, rather than simply requiring them to search for work or find a job. Many of those who argued that work requirement in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have been a major success for mandatory programs conducted either before the creation or during the early years. I believe that many individuals are unlikely to find jobs on their own and have the most to gain from the employment assistance that TANF was supposed to provide. Work requirements rest on the assumption that disadvantaged individuals will work only if they are forced to do so. Despite the efforts that many poor individuals and families put into working

on low-wage jobs that offer unpredictable hours and changed schedules. Also, many working people do not get paid enough for families to feed their children or keep roofs over their heads without public assistance of some kind. Several disadvantaged individuals want to work but cannot find jobs for reasons that work requirements do not solve including that they lack the skills or work experience needed to fulfill the requirements, lack child care assistance, lack social connections that can help one identify job openings or getting hired, or one might have criminal records or personal challenges. Unfortunately, when parents do not meet the work requirements, their children end up in stressful situations, unstable conditions that could have a negative effect to their health or long-term success. Many receivers turn to public assistance programs because some face personal or family challenges that limit their ability to work or reduce their ability to compete for the limited supply of jobs. Their health conditions can limit an individual’s ability to work or limit the amount or kind of work the individual can do are more common among the general population. Having the right support and having enough time, many individuals are likely to be able to work, but few welfare employment programs are created alternatively to work for those individuals and ensure that one receives the support and services needed to find and retain employment.
In my opinion, I believe that welfare measures and shapes the understanding of how people are displayed into poverty, and how much poverty can go up or down when circumstances and rules change. The government places a big part to determine if families are in poverty. The rules consider some resources such as tax credit, food stamps, and family expenses to determine the family’s income. Unfortunately, poverty does not measure the impacts of important procedures that are anticipated to improve financial well-being families. According to Sherman, the United States has developed a set of support for low-income families, children, and people with disabilities obtain health care expenses to lift many Americans out of poverty. This helps many Americans to receive the needed care that is needed for those who cannot afford it. Personally, I believe that the rules and regulations need to be updated and improved based on family’s income.
In conclusion, as previously indicated, the (TANF) “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families has flourished the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program known as (AFDC), as part of the welfare reform.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families represents a majority part of significant of welfare administered by states with federal funding. As for the other changes, welfare is no longer a privilege, and some people in most cases are required to work at least part-time to continue receiving benefits. I believe that federal funds can be used to provide benefits for up to five years, although some states may require less. Overall, poverty will provide financial assistance to children whose families have had at some point low or no income. In addition a specified time period would also prevent the program to not be taken for granted and that would be a program to assist, provide and promote growth for individuals and

families.

Work Cited:
Sherman, Arloc, and Danilo Trisi. "Various Supports for Low-Income Families Reduce Poverty
and Have Long-Term Positive Effects On Families and Children." Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities. N.p., 30 July 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.