Defining Social Welfare Policy - Essay Example

Social Welfare Policy Social welfare is a broad concept incorporating various aspects of assistance provided by the state for its residents in order to improve their quality of life and increase their well-being. In its wide sense, social welfare may refer to well-being of the society as a whole (or the society of a certain state) relating to the quality of life and numerous factors affecting it: these can include the environment quality, crime and drug abuse rates, spiritual life and, of course, level of social services availability and those provided by the state. Being a crucial aspect of any government’s policy, social welfare is a vast issue as it might influence lives of millions (Rom). Social security, accommodation, education and nutrition issues are included into social welfare policy along with social insurance, various types of pensions and social benefits, unemployment insurance and many others. In facts, social welfare isn’t originally designed to accord assistance only to social groups living below the poverty line – however, social welfare is mainly needed by the most vulnerable social groups. The system of social welfare insurance has its roots in Germany of the 19th century: the earliest set of welfare laws was created there in 1880s, later, in the first decades of the 20th century almost all Western countries had followed Germany’s example (Merriam-Webster). Whereas this practice is spread all over the globe nowadays, specific features of social welfare policies may vary from country to country meeting peculiar needs of their inhabitants. Speaking about social welfare policy’s functions, these are to level out social position of a certain group of citizens in comparison to other members of the society. It is for these purposes that various social programs are designed in the framework of the state’s social policy – these social programs are intended on material and financial support of certain categories of citizens funded from the federal budget or non-governmental resources. In terms of approaches to social welfare policy, there are two main views – institutional and residual which will be considered below with reference to their key features and distinctions. Institutional and Residual Social Welfare Systems The two approaches under consideration differ considerably and are known to be competing in many Western societies. In fact, the key differences traced in these approaches lie in the role social welfare system plays in the society and identification of social groups that are entitled to receive material support from the state. From the institutional point of view, the state is perceived as a mechanism maintaining the proper quality of life for the whole population. Emphasizing the preventive role of welfare system in nowadays’ industrial societies, this approach presupposes that a social collective is responsible for ensuring social welfare for each individual. Whereas market is incapable of meeting all the needs of people and even distribution of benefits and goods, this is to be achieved with help of a well-organized system of social institutions, either governmentally or non-governmentally funded. The main aim of such approach is to assist and anticipate possible problems regardless of presence or absence of obvious need for help. Thus, institutional system is rather preventive as one doesn’t need to ask for help from the state directly, assistance can be provided in advance. In contrast to the institutional approach in social welfare policy, residual view doesn’t presuppose any help in advance, being focused on the ‘gap-filling’ only and reacting on immediate need of the most vulnerable social groups. Furthermore, adherents of this approach consider governmental social programs to be the very last resort which should be addresses when all other sources of assistance fail to lend the needed support to people in need. According to this view, most members of the society are able to take care of themselves locating non-governmental sources of social welfare – these can be charity organizations, churches, philanthropic foundations etc. So not everyone can get help in this way, for most people in need are expected to obtain assistance from the abovementioned sources without resorting to the state social welfare system. In should be also mentioned that as soon as an individual improves his/her social position and financial status enough to be independent from the social aid system, this aid is withdrawn to be rendered to others in need. In other words, residual approach presupposes the idea that the state should render assistance only in exceptional cases and only to those who have absolutely no options left, whereas others cannot rely on federal support and should be able to handle their social and financial position without the government’s support. The institutions involved in residual social work are predominantly funded by philanthropists or free-will donations of upper or middle class citizens. These are usually institutions dealing with individuals in need if immediate attention and help: for example, orphans, people with mental issues, abused women and children, those who need immediate help with accommodation, food or evacuation. One more feature of residual approach is providing jobs for the wards so that they can earn their living themselves and don’t need assistance anymore. Institutional and residual approaches differ also in terms of the key aspects of social welfare like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), social security and public assistance. Taking USA and European countries as examples for comparison, we can observe the differences in their perception of social welfare system. Whereas American social policy relies on residual social welfare providing a minimal safety net for a very narrow group of the poorest citizens (Tawadros), European countries practice institutional system seeking to provide maximum facilities for all the citizens as well as to enhance their well-being through general social and economic improvements. Taking the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as an example, we can see that requirements of eligibility for the program are rather strict: the applicants must pass resources and income tests for the US government to make sure that they are really vulnerable and low-income. Besides, applicants may have disables or elderly members, spending more than 35$ monthly for their medical treatment (USDA). American social welfare system also includes numerous public assistance programs including Public Health Insurance Programs, Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) and others, but it can be rather difficult to win eligibility to receive these public assistances. For instance, to be eligible for TANF, applicants have to pass household composition, income, resources and citizenship status tests and also be engaged in work activities when getting the 60-months cash assistance (which fully complies with the general philosophy of residual social welfare). In contrast, social welfare system of France based on institutional principles seeks to cover the needs of all individuals with help of the social programs including the Pension System, Family Insurance and Housing Systems, Health Care, Unemployment Insurance etc. For instance, France provides not only social housings for families in need, but also mortgage subsidies encouraging house ownership. In terms of Family Insurance, French families receive social securities until their children are 16 regardless of the family income (Wingert). History of Social Welfare in USA Generally, American authors distinguish several stages of social policy development: prewar, postwar (lasting till the mid-70s) and the crisis stage starting in the second half of the 1970s. Whereas the 1st and the 2nd are considered to be the stages of progress, the latter is the stage of decline triggered by economic problems and need for both economic and social regulation reorganization. However, the foundations of the fourth stage of progress were laid in early 1980s, with Reagan taking office and introducing a set of conservative reforms. The rise continued with social policies of Bush and Clinton which eventually resulted in the breakthrough in social welfare. It could be mentioned that United Stated have done immense progress in the relatively short period of time moving straight to the Welfare State construction. Roots of Modern Social Welfare “The beginning of the 20th century was fertile ground for the development and expansion of broad governmental responsibility for social problems in the United States” (Reid). As industrialization, globalization and building up of capital and welfare burst up at the dawn of the century, the role government played in lives of its citizens changed considerably. The impact of strengthening positions of industrial capitalism had proved to be rather destructive for decent quality of life and traditional values. Development of progressivism gave rise to a new understanding of social welfare and values, offering a new system of social insurance, professionalization and assistance for immigrants on their way to blending in the American society. The movement later grew into the political party with Theodore Roosevelt competing for the position of the president on the elections of 1912 (Reid). In fact, progressivism movement laid foundations for development of the modern-day American social welfare system, settling three main directions of its operating: preventive activity through social insurance, emphasizing the role of professional qualifications in the society and governmental regulation of social welfare issues. The landmark event in the history of US social welfare was the Social Security Act of 1935 enacted by Theodore Roosevelt within his new course program. Looking for the preconditions of such solution, one sees the devastating impact of the great depression that drained the whole generation dry with its unemployment rates and impoverishment and became a starting point for the change in the government’s role in social sphere regulation. Two state social insurance programs were introduced: the federal social relief program lending assistance to the unemployed and the federal retirement program. However, it is necessary to mention that the former was rather limited supporting only the most vulnerable and poor citizens. The 1935’s Act specified principal distinctions between social insurance when federal programs were funded by the workers’ and entrepreneurs’ contributions and government-funded welfare programs viewed as public benevolence – this formed the key peculiarity of American residual social welfare system in comparison with European countries recognizing no difference between social insurance and social security. In USA, federal assistance is viewed as a temporary measure justified by emergency circumstances even nowadays. 1960s 1960s in America were marked by two vast programs – Great Society and War on Poverty incorporated in it. The Great Society program launched in the middle of 1960s was aimed at eliminating racial injustice and poverty and was a vast and ambitious project. According to Brinkley, the key advantage on this policy is that some of the civil rights movements’ demands were turned into legislation (Brinkley). War on Poverty legislation introduced as a response to a high poverty rate (19%) incorporated several major initiatives affecting areas of education, employment, child care and health care, etc. The Security Act of 1965 establishing norms of medical care, the Food Stamp Act of 1964 providing legislative basis for the Food Stamp Program, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and several others were enacted in the framework of the War on Poverty program. Generally, President Johnson’s policy didn’t fall out of the overall tendencies of residual social welfare. The key feature of the policy was intensive care of the youth providing academic, professional and vocational trainings along with developing their social skills so that these young people are able to become independent, get long-term jobs and maintain the quality of their lives by themselves. Job Corps dealing with training and employment of youth function nowadays, too. Generally, a family is a primary addressee of the social welfare in the US, but, however, eligibility requirements are rather strict with the main criterion being living beyond the line of poverty and having the income beyond the minimum living wage. Moreover, focusing on the residual social welfare approach, USA prefers ‘subsistence’ or ‘natural’ assistance to financial one. Regarding my personal attitude towards the issue of social welfare, I would say that I would rather prefer residual approach. Focusing on lending assistance only to those who are in need rather them to everyone in advance, residual approach, to my thinking, has higher possibility of leveling up social conditions and quality of living as it stimulates work, progress and development instead of degradation. Of course, social welfare system should be ready to help all the citizens who need it, but lending assistance in advance (especially financial assistance) may eliminate people’s motivation to work, and aim for greater achievements. Works Cited: Brinkley, Alan. "Great Society." In The Readers Companion to American History, ed. Eric Foner and John Arthur Garraty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Welfare, from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/welfare Reid, Nelson. Social Welfare History, from: http://www2.uncp.edu/home/marson/348_history.html Rom, Mark Carl. Social Welfare Policy, from: https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/markcarlrom/files/Social-Welfare-Policy.pdf Tawadros, Christina. Comparative Social Welfare Policy: The US & France, from: https://www.google.com.ua/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iassw-aiets.org%2Fuploads%2Ffile%2F20121024_Intern%255C%27s%2520Paper%2520to%2520be%2520put%2520on%2520the%2520website.doc&ei=d70aVP3OGIe8ygP-rYLQDg&usg=AFQjCNEfB3VnacalOGNaqBTgK28TBG54Zg&sig2=utU5ffz1R5SEryP1jWKsAg USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), SNAP: Eligibility, from: http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility Wingert, Jamie. French Welfare State, from: http://www.pitt.edu/~heinisch/ca_fran.html Read More