The Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was passed by Congress, and it provides Medicaid, food stamps, and enforcement of child support. And many other provisions Eligible recipients for this bill satisfy this criteria: you must have a dependent child that lives with you, have certain types of deprivation requirements (such as an absent parent. And provide proof of financial need and meet certain federal and state requirements. Still, the Welfare Reform Act has change several times in American history. For instance, in 1935, welfare was a system of open-ended government payments targeted towards single mothers with dependent children; then In the 1960’s, the welfare program was expanded as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty and sought to help poor, disenfranchised Americans; Lastly, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Reconciliation Act of 1996, which did indeed usher in a new approach to welfare for the most prominent of all welfare programs, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).” In this Act are lot of provisions that I will discuss below and regarding the impact of these provisions on the greater American society.

Provision I of the bill provides Medicaid. Medicaid in 1996 required states to provide Medicaid to families who would be eligible for AFDC. Medicaid provides coverage for people with lower incomes, older people with disabilities, and some families and children. Medicaid commonly covers services such as prescription drugs, prosthetic devices, dental insurance, services of an optometrist including eye glasses, nursing facility services for individuals under the age of 21 and intermediate care facilities and other services for the mentally retarded. Medicaid caters to the elderly age group because being older if your left without anyone to take care of you Medicaid handles all the health bills for services such as a home attendant nurse to provide care for the elderly. About half of the populations receive Medicaid in NY
State. Medicaid benefits a more urban population rather than rural. Reason being is Medicaid is only offered to lower income populations. According to a graph of non-elderly Medicaid recipients by race in 2010 43% Caucasian received Medicaid, 28% Hispanic, 22% black and 7% other. Based on that same graph in 2008-2009 the majority race receiving Medicaid is predominantly Caucasian. With an astonishing 61% in 2009.
Provision II provides food stamps. The 1996 law gave states more control over food stamp operations and coordination with family cash aid, added work rules for adults without dependents and expanded existing work requirements, cut future benefits, placed greater limits on eligibility and expanded penalties for violating the rules. Legislation in 1996 allowed states to pay for food stamps for people ineligible for financed stamps and increase benefits for those with high shelter costs. This later changed in 2002 where the government increased food stamp spending by 5.7-5.9 billion over 10 years. These changes include granting food stamp eligibility to noncitizens after their first 5 years.
Provision III bills provides child support enforcement. This law required the federal government and the states to establish automated registries of child support orders and a directory of new employees to locate the absent parents. It was also required that states had to operate an automated centralized collection unit, streamline the paternity determination process, implement procedures to with hold, suspend, or restrict the use of drivers licenses of the parents to adopt. This law is enforced thoroughly today in 2012 because many single parents struggle with financial needs and basics for a child that is a two-person responsibility.

Conclusion Many laws have been changed and revised to better suite the world today. Discussing the 3 major provisions of welfare was important to get a better understanding in comparison to the world today. I found this assignment intriguing. It allows us to draw connections for how laws in the past
Have affected or are currently affecting people. A firm understanding of the law and how is important to be content citizen in a democratic society such as America….