...Single Mothers When I think of the word Welfare system, nothing but bad memories comes to mind. I remember when I had to wait in line for free government cheese, butter and peanut butter. Being on Welfare goes hand and hand with poverty in my mind. Living in the projects in Brooklyn, New York and the environment that surrounded me still has an effect on me today. This type of violent environment made my outlook on life dim and I had total disregard for life in my earlier years. I desired to have my dad present, but he went his own way in the 80’s about the same time when crack hit the streets of New York; my dad became a statistic to the crack game. My mother had to move us out of the city and away from our father. My mother thought moving us upstate would help us see a different life. Well yes it did, it showed me how a single mother has to work two jobs to get off of welfare. She was still driving about two hours one way to get to work and never was home to help her kids with their homework; or even to attend any of the sports games. I guess the worst part of it is when I was writing this I would use words like “is” instead of “was” for past tense like I still have very strong feelings today about poverty, welfare and single mothers because I know how it affected my family and me. In the United States there is a very big social problem with the Welfare System. First I will be going over the major legislation reform in the Welfare System also known as Temporary Assistance...
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...Summary: TANF stands for Temporary Assistance to needy families. TANF is a program designed to help needy families gain the support they need in order to get back on their feet. There are four parts to TANF. 1. To provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes. 2. Reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. 3. To prevent and reduce the incidence of out of wedlock pregnancies. Encourage the formation and maintenance of two parent families. To qualify for TANF there are many requirements; you must be a U.S. citizen, you must have a social security number, you must have a child under the age of 18 living at home, and if you are pregnant you qualify the last month of your pregnancy. There is a maximum of 60 months of TANF assistance in one’s lifetime. Evaluation: I was glad to write a paper on TANF so that I could learn more exact details on it. I was not too familiar with TANF because of the recent changes. When I was younger my family was receiving benefits from TANF but a few things have changed since then. I think it is a good thing that there is a limit of 60 months. That makes the program more of an aid to help people to get on their feet rather than to just be dependent on TANF forever. I also think that it is cool that a mother who is in her last month of pregnancy can receive TANF benefits. TANF is a good resource for needy families all over...
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...Justin Mills Welfare Reform In 1996 the federal government of the United States created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in an effort to move parents of welfare and into the workforce (Hildebrandt & Stevens 793). The intent of this legislation was to create an environment in which people would be able to provide for themselves without the assistance of the government. However, as of 2006 38.7 million people in the United States, including 13.28 million children, were still living below the poverty level of $22,050 for a family of four (Hildebrandt & Stevens 793). These numbers indicate that the problem did not improve and many people have become accustomed to the lifestyle that receiving welfare affords them. Further changes to the welfare system would go a long way towards resolving these issues. The United States government must reform the welfare program with pre-screenings and lifetime limits on benefits to prevent producing a society of dependent people. In 1996 Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which created the TANF program (Cook et al. 249). The legislation significantly altered the provisions for extending cash to low-income families (Cook et al. 249). The new provisions imposed a federal lifetime limit of up to five years on financial support and strengthened the requirements for employment and work-related activities (Cook et al. 249). The ability of immigrants, including those...
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...producing productive workers in society. The controversy of Welfare is not one that government has found to be an ethical issue. Democrats see its needs for American families in need and Republicans see it as a state of dependency brought on by the Democrats. Welfare is not only a federal issue but rather a federal and state issue collectively. Although its funding comes from federal government, it’s allocated to states where welfare is implemented. America’s welfare system for cash assistance has been the support system for mothers and children for decades. Welfare has become a dependency for families who have lost their jobs, are disabled, or cannot get employment due to America’s poor economic system. It has become a “shrunken piece of America’s social safety net” (Goldstein, 2010). Being dependent on welfare is not healthy. Welfare is a dependency because families are provided financial stability for a limited amount of time; families get comfortable getting assistance and not working, and families have no other source of help without welfare. The numbers of families getting welfare checks have increased in the past five years. The numbers have increased to 185,000 between the start of America’s recession in the year 2007 and the spring of 2011 (Goldstein, 2010)....
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...taught by Professor Weslea Bell March 11, 2014 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is one of the federal assistance programs designed to help families with children providing cash and housing assistance. The cash benefit is often referred to as “welfare”. Welfare recipients are often portrayed as lazy, lacking in ambition, and unwilling to take responsibility for themselves (Brady, 2013). When the recipients of welfare receive the cash and housing benefits is it truly helping or hindering them? Doug Brady states, “the current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work.” This raises the question of should welfare regulations be changed or not? The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, was known as the “welfare reform”. TANF ended the much despised Depression-era federal entitlement to cash benefits for needy single mothers, replacing it with short term, work oriented programs designed and run by individual states (Hymowitz, 2006). Under TANF, the federal government provides a block grant to the states, which use these funds to operate their own programs. In order to receive federal funds, states must also spend some of their own dollars on programs for needy family. (Schott, 2012) Congress has provided states with $16.5 billion per year in fixed federal TANF funding to cover cash benefits primarily targeted to needy families (Brown, 2013). TANF is still one of the...
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...children of needy parents. In 2008, FamilyFacts.org reported that $714 billion was spent on welfare. This included $42 billion for housing, $63 billion on food, $154 billion in cash aid, $372 billion in medical care, and $83 billion on other expenses. Many others feel that welfare distributes wealth to those who don’t earn it. To them, welfare encourages illegitimate births, the breakup of families, and discourages recipients from bettering themselves (Mankiw, p.429). Welfare provides the means for a lazy society that is dependent on hard working citizens for their support. Welfare provides the basic needs and allows for a better quality of live that protects the children from hunger and homelessness. The parents of these children often qualify because their income is at or below poverty level and they have met their state’s requirements to receive any benefits. But instead of the system being a temporary crutch, the system allows recipients to grow dependent on welfare and increases their incentive to continue participating in the program. Many recipients remain on benefits much longer than needed and continually engage in practices that keep them eligible. These, in turn, beget a cycle that children see their parents engaging in and therefore accept that behavior as the norm. With members in each generation participating in welfare programs, when does the cycle end? The Effects of Welfare on the Family The faces of welfare happen to be mostly single mothers. Children of...
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...TANF was created by the 1996 welfare reform law to replace AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). Under the TANF structure, the federal government provides a block grant to the states, which use these funds to operate their own programs. 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.” This paper will examine the TANF program from inception to determine how effective the program has performed. REVIEW OF LITERATURE TANF’s early years witnessed dramatic declines in the number of families receiving cash assistance, and a great increases in the share of single mothers working, especially those with less than a high school education. But since then, nearly all of the employment gains have disappeared, and TANF caseloads have responded only modestly to increased need during this...
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...established on May 4, 1980, the DHHS stemmed from another governmental agency, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). The Department of Health and Human Services administers both the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Medicare is the largest health insurer in the U.S.; together Medicare and Medicaid provide health coverage for one in four Americans. DHHS, widely known for these health insurance programs, also provide over three hundred programs that are administered within itself and by eleven operating divisions. Other programs the Department of Health and Human Services offer assist people with help paying household bills and buying groceries. In Texas these programs are known as TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). According to "U.S. Department of Health & Human Services" (n.d.), the DHHS "administers more grant dollars than all other federal agencies combined” (About HHS). The department is led by the Office of the Secretary. In addition, there...
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...Welfare Reform Laura Lee Niehoff POL 201 Instructor: Marion Rogers August 26, 2012 Welfare Reform Government assistance programs have been around for many years. The US welfare program began in the 1930’s during the Great Depression (US Welfare System - Help for US Citizens, 2012). The whole idea behind the welfare program was to give aid to families who had little or no income. The welfare program, in the United States, was originally designed to help provide a minimal level of aid to help maintain the wellbeing of citizens. Previously, the local communities would help the less fortunate. Social groups would give donations of food to struggling families. These groups would also donate clothing and other necessities. Now, the government is the largest provider of these programs. The programs were originally based on helping those unable to work or provide for themselves. Until the 1960’s only disabled, or elderly citizens were qualified to receive aid. Legislation not only changed the recipients eligible for help, but also the help available. Programs such as health care, food stamps, pregnancy assistance, and help for single mothers started to emerge. The next addition to the program was housing benefits. To some, the addition of these new programs made it more enticing to receive aid rather than work. The programs had now become considered easy money. If you were able to show need, you would most likely qualify for benefits. Over the last 80...
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...well as private charities were overwhelmed by needy families seeking shelter, food, and clothing. In 1935, welfare for poor children and other dependent persons became the responsibility of the federal government. To deal with the depression, the Social Security Act of 1935 provided a minimal level of sustenance to elderly Americans, established a safety net for less fortunate Americans, and also created a program to assist some of the nation’s poor. One of which used to be called Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). This program went on to become the main support for needy, one parent families. The goal of AFDC was to protect societies most vulnerable: children living in poverty. 2. What are the two main criticisms of welfare?...
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...Government welfare checks to needy families in South Carolina will be decreased by 20 percent in hopes to help relieve the budget deficit. “This decrease is in hopes to control the deficit. We know that this will be harder for families, but we hope to help them find jobs to support their families.” Said Department of Social Services spokeswoman Susie Alston The program Welfare to Work or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is a program that is helping families who have fell on hard times. Right now families participating in the program are receiving $270. If these checks are cut by 20 percent the families will receive $216. Families in South Carolina are already receiving the least amount in government assistance in the nation. The process in which they determine the amount of money families will get is not fair to South Carolinians. The process is about population and cost of living. This process does not figure in the poverty level. Since the assistance is getting smaller the department of social services will increase services to help the heads of households get better jobs in order to be released from the program. “A lot of these people haven’t finished high school so helping them find jobs are harder since employers are requiring high school diplomas.” Said Alston. The lines at the unemployment office are still long with families trying to be placed with jobs. Some of these families receiving benefits have jobs, but are still facing difficulty with making ends...
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...in the 1930’s, when welfare programs were in their infancy, prominent members in government expressed concern that welfare programs may inadvertently promote abuse of the system. The work ethic of that generation was completely different than it is now. It was embarrassing to be on Welfare. It was humiliating to stand in line at the market and present food stamps to pay for food. In today’s society, there are many people that do abuse the welfare system. Today, there is no shame in expecting taxpayers to pay the way for those who refuse to work. They refuse to take a job because it isn’t something that they want to be doing, yet, they walk around in name brand clothing, fingernails done, hair done, driving new cars while on state assistance. Lawmakers have put the Welfare Reform in place, but concepts are not working. Lawmakers are constantly making changes to the systems in order to keep people from abusing the systems, but much more work is needed. If the abuse continues, the welfare system will be jeopardized because there won’t be any funds available to continue to run the programs that need to be in place for those that actually need the help. The trends in the literature on welfare reform clearly support the need to address the issue of rampant abuse of the system. Overview of Welfare Welfare programs have been established to help the poor survive. Many people have to go on welfare programs for a plethora of reasons. Due to the economy,...
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...best life possible. Some of the programs include "Medicaid, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Head Start, Work Study, and Medicare" (Welfare Info, n.d.). Another very commonly known one is Social Security which is mainly for seniors when they retire. The history of the welfare system is quite interesting. Many years ago before the Welfare system had even began; the colonies actually imported the British Poor Laws (Welfare Info, n.d.). This basically separated those that could work and those that couldn't work due to their age or health. During the 1800's the US tried to continue work with the government so they could better benefit the poor but it wasn't until President Franklin D. Roosevelt the Social Security Act began in 1935 (Welfare Info, n.d.). With this act, it was able to launch programs to help many more people than just the elderly or those that couldn't work because of health reasons. During Bill Clinton's Presidency, he signed the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act" and with this, the federal government gives an annual lump sum to the states to help the poor (Welfare Info, n.d.). In exchange the states had to meet certain criteria to ensure that those being assisted are in fact receiving assistance and are making progress from receiving welfare to go back to work. Each of the programs that have been developed to help individuals and/or...
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...to its citizens but does not espouse socialism. As socialism and democracy cannot go hand in hand, therefore, it is impossible for the United States to be one of the true welfare states. The United States does make efforts to provide for persons in need through a myriad of social service programs known as welfare. Welfare encompasses those government programs that provide benefits and economic assistance to no or low income Americans. It can also be defined as financial assistance to impoverished Americans which is supplied through the taxes paid by the working class. One of the main goals of welfare programs in USA is to improve the quality of life and living standards for the poor and underprivileged. Welfare help is usually extended to people groups other than just the poor and underprivileged such as the elderly, the disabled, students, and unpaid workers, such as mothers and caregivers Welfare programs available in the United States include: Medicaid, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Head Start, Work Study, and Medicare. Social Security, often times called an entitlement program, is also considered one of the welfare programs in the U.S.. TANF is probably one of the most recognized of the welfare programs. Formerly known as Aid to Families with Dependant Children (AFDC), TANF was a reform measure for this program. No longer a lifelong program as AFDC was, TANF...
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...children. Many argued, especially social activist, that income maintenance assistance should be temporary for those experiencing financial hardship. This is probably why the government chose a residual approach to income maintenance rather than a universal approach. The purpose for residual approach income maintenance is to provide a minimum level of income to families and individuals. Recipients must demonstrate an economic need according to the (means test), with eligibility based on income and assets (p.116). Examples of residual income are Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food stamps, Medicaid, earned income tax credit (EITC) and (Section 8) housing aid. Each program includes an incentive or clause that promotes able bodies to increase their income by earing wages to supplement their assistance. In conclusion, according to Antipoverty Strategy, when hourly wages are high, the number of people in poverty tends to decline. (p.163) The purpose of universal income maintenance is to offer minimum income for poor families with children. Universal approach supporter, President Nixon, proposed a replacement for the old welfare aid programs with a single program called, “Aid to Families with Dependent Children.” This plan would grant income to families with children, but with strict stipulation. One of the requirements would force mothers with children under three years old to gain employment. (p.147) However, others...
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