The Welfare System
Orsola Nelson
May 16, 2012

Kaplan University
Human Services and Social Policy – HN300-01
Michelle March

The Welfare System got its start in the 1930’s under President Franklin D. Roosevelt following The Great Depression. It started with The New deal but it was not until 1935 when individuals saw welfare for them and their needs. This was the start of The Social Security Act of 1935. In this act provisions were setup to include Old Age assistance and benefits, unemployment compensation, aid to dependent children, maternal and child welfare, services for crippled children, child welfare, public health work and vocational rehabilitation (National Center, n.d). The Food Stamp Program started in 1939, but was ended because there was no longer a widespread food surplus or unemployment. However, the program resurfaced in 1961 after reports, studies and federal proposals in 18 years showed a need for the program to continue (USDA, 2012). The next set of welfare programs came during Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency in the 1960’s. President Johnson had The Great Society that was like President Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Great Society included the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 which aimed at attacking poverty in America. The Job Corps, Head Start Program, Medicare, The Peace Corps, Omnibus Housing Act, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and The National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities were all created in 1964 under Johnson (U.S. History, 2012). All of these programs are examples of different social welfare systems established in America.
Public Policy is a declared state of objectives, relating to the health and well being of the American citizen. Legislatures and Courts seek to nullify any action, contract or trust that counters the objectives of a public policy. Welfare programs contain both goals and objectives for the overall success of the program. An objective is a measured component of the program or policy. Objectives should detail the “who” and “how many” and the “where” the program will operate and what its purpose aims to accomplish. A goal is a variable that includes many functions and a multitude of task related purposes for the program. By understanding the objectives and goals of a specific program or policy professionals can implement each goal or objective to the achievement of the program (Chambers and Wedel, 2009).
Welfare programs deliver services in a multitude of ways depending on the service provided. Social Security is more of cash disbursement for seniors aged 65 and over, the disabled worker, (as long as the worker was not injured on the job) and supplemental security income. The Food Stamp Program used to offer vouchers specifically designated for food purchases. Today food stamps come in the form of a credit card or more accurately EBT card, (Electronic Benefits Transfer). Head Start programs offer preschool to disadvantaged children to prepare them for kindergarten. Medicaid and Medicare are types of medical or health insurance that helps children or the elderly with prescription, medical and hospital coverage.
Depending on the type of welfare received some individuals are eligible for other forms of welfare; this called co-entitlement. However with co-entitlement also comes disentitlement. These two policy effects can be beneficial to an individual in need or can make matters strained for the individual. Disentitlement covers the aforementioned disabled worker. This disabled worker, if injured on the job will receive worker’s compensation of 66 2/3 % of their salary. But by receiving worker’s compensation this disentitles the worker to social security disability payments. Also constraining the injured worker if their medical insurance is disabled after 10 years on worker’s compensation and after a MMI, (Maximum Medical Improvement) has been performed. The injured worker could have a battle with social security to acquire the much needed Medicaid or Medicare benefit for their continued recovery. A co-entitled person could be a mother to be that has little to no income. This pregnant woman is entitled to WIC (Women, Infant and Children) for five years for the child and one year after the birth of the child for mom, Food stamps and Medicaid. Medicaid would only last for mom until after the baby is born. Other policy effects include contrary effect and duplication of services. Contrary effects could be a centralizing authority, where one person would be the contact for each service the client requires. This can be beneficial in some ways because the client can report to one worker. However if there is a problem it could take longer to resolve because the worker in charge of all the services for a client cannot oversee every angle of each service, especially if we consider the number of people the worker assists daily. On duplication of services, once called double-dipping, a juvenile on probation, the main source of assistance would be their probation officer. If this particular client was already receiving other programs of assistance from the state such as TANF, they would have a social worker supplying them with same type of assistance as their probation officer (Chambers and Wedel, 2009).
Every social policy has its own set of strengths and weaknesses based on the delivery of service method, ethical considerations, eligibility requirements, and structure of the program itself. Social policies, like the food stamp program is a perfect example of the strengths and weaknesses regarding eligibility requirements. The food stamp program is set to serve millions and help keep them from going hungry. They provide an electronic benefits transfer card to every individual that meets a certain criteria to be eligible for the program. However their requirements are generally based on gross income and not net, the difference between what a person brings home in pay and what their actual pay is before taxes. This type of eligibility requirement has been known to hurt those that make just enough gross income to keep them off of the program, but do not bring home enough pay to consider their ultilies, rent and food costs. Medicaid and Medicare are good examples of service delivery strengths and weaknesses in that if a person is found to be disabled before the age of 62 they can have Medicaid which will cover their medical, hospitalization and prescription costs. But if a woman is 63 and is on disability but their husband has died and they should have been entitled to Medicare upon reaching 62 but because the program did not randomly check her account, she could be faced with having to pay for her Medicare benefits because she does not qualify for the QMB portion as a surviving spouse like she would have if this had been changed over upon her reaching the age of 62 years. The Omnibus Housing Act is an excellent source of ethical considerations strengths and weaknesses. In the role of social programs for today, we are not allowed to base participants in categories or stereotypes. However in 1965, when the Omnibus Housing Act was developed it stood to serve indigent African-Americans with housing not all Americans like the Housing and Urban Development of today. Structurally, an example of strengths and weaknesses would probably fall into the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In 1965 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was in effect and until 2001 there had been no real change to the 1965 ESEA. However in 2001, the transition from the ESEA to NCLB states that a recipient of an award under the ESEA will continue to receive funds according to the terms of that award but that no additional funds will be awarded to that recipient after September 30, 2002 (US Dept. of Education, 2012).
Changes to the social programs or policies of the welfare system can be a major component of what works and what does not. In the scope of things, welfare is based on helping people that are disadvantaged by unemployment or underemployment. Either way certain rules of eligibility can assist some while others are left wondering what the next chapter holds for them. In my recommendations of change in a program it would have to be the food stamp and the WIC programs. I understand the reasoning behind the gross income requirement, but I wonder if the government has taken into consideration the rise of food costs? Just because a family makes $20.00 gross too much per month does not mean that the family can survive their food costs bills each month when they are not in fact bringing home that $20.00 discrepancy in their eligibility requirement under the current plan. Under WIC the mother or proxy is given vouchers with pre-approved nutritional foods listed on the vouchers. One thing to note before recommending changes would be that most on the food stamp program do not buy the healthiest of products mainly due to the higher prices of nutritionally balanced foods.
My recommendations would be to challenge state officials to only spend $0.22 per meal, the equivalent of the $20.00 a month disparity between the gross and net income, for one 30 day month. This would open some eyes as to how stringent the rules of eligibility are when applying for food stamps. Make a pre-approved food list, such as the WIC program, for the food stamp program to ensure the recipients are eating a healthy diet instead of what the program affords. If people eat a healthy diet, they have less desire to snack because they feel full longer from the appropriate minerals and nutrients they received from the healthier meal. The last change I would recommend is to not only take into consideration income, but if an applicant is receiving SSI and no other form of Social Security; they should automatically qualify for the maximum food stamp allotment for one person.

References

Chambers, D.E. and Wedel, K.R. (2009). Social policy and social programs; A method for the practical public policy analyst. Pearson: Boston, MA.
National Center. (n.d.). Social security act of 1935. Retrieved May 17, 2012 from http://www.nationalcenter.org/SocialSecurityAct.html
U.S. D.A. (2012). Supplemental nutrition program: A short history of snap; The first food stamp program (FSP) – May 16, 1939 –Spring 1943. Retrieved May 17, 2012 from http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Legislation/about.htm
U.S. Department of Education. (2012). Elementary and secondary education; table of contents. Retrieved May 18, 2012 from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
U.S. History. (2012). 56e. Lyndon Johnson’s great society. Retrieved May 17, 2012 from
http://www.ushistory.org/us/56e.asp