Social Work Policy TANF - Term Paper Example

In United States of America, efforts have been put forward time and again to keep the societal classes at peace. The poor who are unable to meet the needs of the changing society are provided grants to support their kin. Various laws have been passed over the years but the most prominent one was the PRWORA Act declared during Bill Clinton’s Government. Public Law. 104-193 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA): On 22nd August, 1996, a bill was approved by congress proposing a new financial assistance program replacing AFDC (Aid to Families with dependent Children) that has remained active since 1935. The need for replacement has become imperative due to an increased culture of poverty as AFDC failed to meet the defined standards and increased welfare support; this also resulted in major deficits for the government. “The social objectives behind PRWORA/96 were to reduce welfare dependency, promote economic self-efficacy, help poor families, acquire a work ethic, discourage out of wed-lock births and to provide work skills training. To give states more flexibility in administering public assistance programs” (Hayslip & Patrick, 2006, p. 304). After many years of debate over the pros and cons of AFDC, Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act introduced a new program termed as TANF. Incentives were provided to all states in order to promote marriages and support needy children. TANF “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants and makes deep funding cuts in basic programs for low income children, families, the elderly, people with disabilities, and immigrants” (Hayslip & Patrick, 2006, p. 304). It constituted a system of fixed block grants with 16.6 billion at its execution. All states were given freedom to establish their own work policies yet they are held accountable to meet the work participation requirements for caseloads set by the federal government (Loprest & Zedlewski, 2006). Nature of the Problem With the economic regression in recent years inflation overruled as poverty prevails and people have started to face the same teething troubles that were associated with previous financial assistance programs. Technological, physical and financial support With the current technology, availability of human resources and finance in hand people who need temporary assistance in cash could be helped so that they can enlighten the future of their children. Even by aiding them at a micro level, teaching them vocational skills, educating them will be a source of motivation to work for the betterment. With the TANF program, cash assistance caseloads fell dramatically during the first five years of its implementation but afterwards the program began to lose its impact on general public. The need of the hour is to elucidate major issues that act as barriers in the smooth progression of this program. Social Attitudes It was difficult for public to get familiarised with this new act after sixty years of dealing with the older one. When PRWORA was first introduced in public, it received a mingled response. Single mothers were disappointed with the fewer privileges whereas married couples took it in a positive light. Necessity to work for payment made people used to new ways of earning living without being totally dependent on state. However some people missed the advantages of AFDC in terms of enjoying extra health facilities without suffering from the pressure of being employed. Following is the general idea of how TANF operates in United States of America: Administration In charge TANF is mostly regulated under the hands of state rather than being implemented federally. Therefore the proper administration of this policy is still a milestone to be achieved. Because of excessive local involvement, vague accomplishment goals and unjust accountability system, the policy is yet to achieve its due (Worthman 2010, p.509). A. Political Availability of Resources: Federal Government has authority over the financial distribution of resources but states can distribute federal money in any proper way they wish to implement. “States can use TANF dollars in ways designed to meet any of the four purposes set out in federal law, which are to: “(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families”(Schatt, 2009). B. Level(s) of Government Involved: TANF requires the state to develop an overview of the program planned keeping in mind that local government and private institutes are asked for during discussions so that a plan according to the local needs could be established. Authorities or Governing bodies have forty five days to comment on the proposed plan. C. Voluntarism: Volunteers and other non-profit organisations also play a key part by highlighting main problems of families that are in need of temporary financial assistance. They can provide social support to poor families. D. Political considerations which are parochial or provincial: In politics TANF is a narrow minded concept of improving economic conditions of the country. It is not taken as a social work policy. This is an amendment regardless of ethnic origin or creed. Therefore uniformity must be ensured so that poverty alleviates leaving responsible citizens of society behind. #3 TANF in relation to past solutions or current policies: The main point to ponder is how should we perceive TANF in relation to past strategies and practices for financial aids? It is true that with the launch of this program the amount of welfare recipients reduced to 40 per cent till the year 1999. But thinking in broad terms, we cannot ignore the fact that TANF came into practice when America was having economic boost. Naturally with an increase in employment opportunities, people were able to support themselves in a better way thus leaving assistance for more needy population. Another important point is that Government decided to curtail its expenditures on financial assistance programs by making procedures difficult for common man to follow. Therefore people left TANF mostly not because they become self sufficient but because they were unable to fulfil conditions attached with the agreement. #4 Consequences of solutions intended / unintended: A major issue that arise as a result of giving freedom to the states for devising their own methods was that some states started to inflict more restrictions and additional burden on recipients. According to the report of General Accounting office, 1998: “Over 30 states have adopted “diversion” programs, which emphasize other methods of providing assistance, such as support services or a onetime cash payment, instead of providing ongoing cash assistance. Other programs require recipients to look for employment for a specified time before considering their welfare application, and many of these people never return to complete their application for benefits”(Lens, 2002, p.281). A. Barriers to employment: “Recipients that lose cash assistance because they were sanctioned off the program for Non-compliance with program requirements are more likely to experience barriers to employment than those who have left welfare for other reasons” (Goldberg, 2002, p. 2). Main reasons for barriers in employment include domestic violence, drug use, mental or physical disorder, limited English proficiency, temporary residence etc. #5 Evaluation- Social cost vs Opportunity Cost: TANF tends to change a family’s social and financial setup. A mother who is playing the role of a nurturer and an employer at the same time will definitely be unable to give full time to her children. She is availing the opportunity to earn a living but at the cost of her child’s upbringing. Stigmatizing poverty and unemployment, TANF forces the recipient to accept the first opportunity of work presented to him otherwise the future of the needy will remain deluded forever. Sometimes the transportation charges are more than a person can afford, thus income seemed fruitless to meet the demands. “Although TANF does not prohibit recipients from pursuing the education or skills training needed to move into higher paying employment, it makes it very difficult for them to do so. The reason for this is straightforward: By steering such women into dead-end jobs where they are required to work up to 30 hours a week, TANF provides little, if any, time for employed single mothers with child-rearing responsibilities to pursue an education”(Lens, 2010, p.283). #6 Recommendations for alternate solutions predicted on evaluation: Unfortunately, TANF policy has contributed more to the social problem than to its solution Research has indicated that TANF reauthorisation legislation should assess its performance over the last few years and give compensation to individuals with physical or mental disabilities who genuinely deserve aid. Five time monetary assistance in a lifetime and other supporting services should be extended. The clause of compulsory employment as a payback should be made flexible in case of physically challenged and those who have temporary housing destinations and cannot continue job in one state for years. Education is a common right to all. States should provide proper training programs before hiring employees who are applicants of temporary financial assistance program. References Goldberg, Heidi (2002). Improving TANF Program Outcomes For Families With Barriers to Employment Hayslip, Bert & Patrick, Julie (2006). Custodial Grand Parenting: individual, cultural and ethnic diversity. Springer Publishing Company, p.304 Lens, Vicki (2010). TANF: What went wrong and what to do next Loprest, Pamela & Zedlewski, Sheila (2006).The Changing Role of Welfare in the lives of Low Income Families With Children Schott, Liz (2009). Policy Basics: An Introduction to TANF, Retrieved from http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=936 Worthman, Carol & Plotsky, Paul (2010).Formative experiences: The Interaction of Caregiving and Culture. Read More