...The Welfare Reform Act The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) enacted in 1996 came up with three basic legislative goals, to reduce dependency, child poverty, illegitimacy, and strengthen marriage. The reform has been effective in meeting each of these goals. After implementing the welfare reform, the AFDC/TANF caseloads have dropped by nearly 50%. Some argue that this decline in welfare dependency is do to a stronger economy; but with no previous economic boom, this decline has never resulted in a decline in the AFDC caseloads, let alone a 50 percent drop. It is welfare reform, not economic conditions that has produced the drastic decline in dependency in the 1990s. The fifty states vary dramatically in their states rate of caseloads that have declined, but these rates of decline are uncorrelated to differences in underlying state economic factors such as job growth rates or unemployment. States with better economies have not had greater drops in caseload. By contrast, declines in dependence are directly and strongly linked to the austerity of state workfare policies (TANF, 1936-1999). The persons against the reformation of the welfare have said that the reform will throw millions of children into poverty but in all reality child poverty has decreased because the reform was enacted, from approximately 20.8% in 1996 to 16.9% in 1999. The Black children and the families with single mother’s poverty levels have decreased as well. States...
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...1 The Welfare Reform Act Paula Foreman HCR/230 December 9, 2012 Santresa Sanders 2 The Welfare Reform Act caused many existing Medicaid beneficiaries to lose necessary coverage. The delinking of Medicaid to AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) has resulted in the changes in the eligibility requirements to obtain Medicaid benefits. The old format would enable an eligible welfare applicant automatically eligible for Medicaid. Today this is not the case. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) a new block grant has higher eligibility requirements, therefore resulting in a decrease in people who are now on Medicaid. TANF has put emphasis on diversion and job emphasis which has also steered people away from Medicaid. The economy has made job finding easier. Incomes were raised which led to some applicants and beneficiaries no longer meeting income tests or eligibility requirements for Medicaid. When these changes were made, the number of people on Medicaid decreased greatly resulting in numerous people being ineligible for Medicare or the present recipients losing Medicaid that was necessary to cover their medical expenses due to their medical issues. The changes caught many by surprise Although the Welfare Reform Law does not alter how Medicaid offers health care or it’s entitlement status, it does minimize the number of people covered, thus lowering federal expenditures. Eligible Medicaid candidates...
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...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...
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...Assignment: The Welfare Reform Act 2 The Welfare Reform Act has made many changes in the welfare system and in this paper some of the various issues will be discussed. These issues will touch on whether the Welfare Reform Act has met the goal of helping people obtain jobs and leave the welfare program. Whether or not there has been a drop in applicants for the welfare program and if existing Medicaid beneficiaries lost their necessary coverage under the act will be covered. When the Welfare Reform Act was first created it was a replacement for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC),it was then referred to as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),( KU, L. 1997). The welfare reform law does not change how health care is delivered or has it made any changes in who is able to able to be accepted to the program (KU, L. 1997). According to Ku (1973), “there were only four major changes to Medicaid eligibility which are: splitting the welfare and Medicaid eligibility, narrowing eligibility for disabled children in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), terminating access for some legal immigrants because they lose SSI, and by not allowing future legal immigrants from being accepted for Medicaid.” By making these changes then it can be said that this reform has indeed not lowered the number of people who were on the Medicaid program at the federal level. It is also at...
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...training of child-welfare workers the State Legislatures enacted the Child Welfare Reform Act in 1979. The program will provide preventive and rehabilitative services that focus on strengthening family relationships and to place the children back with their families as quickly as possible. If all of these services fail and the families dynamic is detrimental to the child the Act provide adoptive placement as well, so foster care will not be a common option for a temporary home of children. In response to the lack of training of staff who make decisions that can disruptive the child and families life the Child Welfare Reform Act also require workers to have adequate training of the complexing of problem related to children remove from the families, cultural backgrounds, and the legal procedures of foster care. This act is for the sole purpose of enabling...
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...The word puppy mills, sounds so happy, almost like they would have dogs roaming free on acres of land, but the reality is they’re in cages that are stacked on top of each other. When the dogs on the top urinate or defecate the dogs below become covered with their excrement. If that wasn’t bad enough, food and water are also affected which causes illness that’s neglected by the workers. The environments the dogs lived in were overlooked for a while until “ in 1966, congress passed Public Law 89-544, know as the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act.” The act was to help “regulate humane care and handling of dogs, cats, and other laboratory animals” (Report Template). In 1970, “ The law was amended” (USDA Inspection 2010). which allowed the Secretary...
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...Thesis Title: Creating an advertisement campaign for Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation (HLAF) in supporting and protecting the rights of persons in detention especially of children; Advocating proper implications of the juvenile justice and welfare act. Introduction: Children are not criminal; however they become one if they are in an area where they do not meet their basic needs for food, water, shelter, health care, education and sanitation. They are strip of their rights to develop and maintain a life of dignity to mature uneducated and unemployed. Rose from desperation and destitution these children are becoming criminals. Our country where majority of underprivileged remains unaddressed, many become breeding grounds for young offenders. The main alibi is their poverty and some are forced to break the law primarily to survive. These children accused of criminal acts are housed at Center for Restorative Activities Development and Learning Experiences (CRADEL) runs by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. The Humanitarian Legal Assistance Foundation, Inc. (HLAF) is a non-government and a non-profit organization registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Founded in 2001, HLAF envisions a world order founded on the universal respect for human rights, especially for the right and freedom against arbitrary and unjust imprisonment, in all its forms. HLAF specifically...
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...1930’s, the federal government officially funded families and individuals who were in need of aid because of their insignificant incomes. The United States welfare system was initially created in order to support families who were down on their luck and required guidance in order to build their income once again, eventually reducing the poverty level. Originally, the welfare system was in the hands of the government which agitated many Americans who pleaded for a reform. Being a controversial topic, the United States welfare system will consistently be in the headlines and in need continuous amendments in order to fulfill the needs of every underprivileged family. Before we discuss in which ways the welfare...
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...There are so many mothers with children that need help for the Welfare Programs. The student researched programs that were needed for single mothers. North Carolina has Medicaid for Pregnant Women. Medicaid for Pregnant is only for Pregnant Women. It covers any services needed to bare a healthy child. This is prenatal care, Childbirth and parenting classes, and family planning. The student researched services that can be given to a mother that is unemployed and has no money coming into the home to help pay bills such as rent and light bill. There is a program here in North Carolina called work first. Work first is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which pays a certain amount of money to do volunteer work within the community. The pay is not like a regular job but it is some cash for the mother to pay a few things. WIC is for Women, Infants, and Children. Some call this program the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program. This is for low income families to provide the children and child baring mother with the food they need to stay healthy. Food stamps some places call it Food and Nutrition Services. These services are only used to purchase food for low income families. A student from Ashford University researched and examined the history of social welfare policy. The Student wanted to see how the social welfare policy pertained to the population of single mothers in North Carolina. The Student wanted to discuss the need for help concerning the wellbeing of their child...
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...Ethical Issues Concerning Welfare reform Alexandra Padua Dr. Jonathan Christensen MG260: Business Law I Opening statement * “I think we should acknowledge that some welfare programs in the past were not well designed and in some cases did encourage dependency.…” President Barrack Obama The beginning of welfare in the 1930’s to President Clinton’s welfare reform in the 1990’s A. Why did President Franklin find a need to begin welfare in the U.S.A? B. What welfare did for America and who it helped? C. How President Clinton reformed welfare, and why. D. How effective President Clintons changed towards welfare has been. I. President Franklin felt the obligation II. Welfare was given to the people of America as a hand up to get back on their feet. It helped anyone who needed the assistance. III. President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. IV. President Clinton’s changes pushed able bodied person(s) to work and support themselves and their families. Legal Issues concerning welfare reform A. Immigrants B. Requirements C. Length of time I. Immigrants that need Medicaid are not eligible. II. To receive TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) people now need to be looking for a job, working or, evolved in job education. III. People who are receiving benefits are limited to the time they can receive benefits. Ethical Issues concerning welfare reform. A. Helping Americans...
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...Social Welfare Past & Present robert white HN300: Human Services and Social Policy Social Welfare Past & Present robert white HN300: Human Services and Social Policy 2014 2014 Social welfare began in England with the English Poor Laws. Poor Laws were a body of laws that provided relief for the poor, developed in 16th-century and maintained, with various changes, until after World War II. The Elizabethan Poor Laws, were administered through parish overseers, who provided relief for the aged, sick, and infant poor, as well as work for the able-bodied in workhouses. However, the modern welfare state was started by Otto von Bismarck, the first Chancellor of Germany, created the modern welfare state by building on a tradition of welfare programs in Prussia and Saxony that began as early as in the 1840s. Bismarck introduced old age pensions, accident insurance and medical care that formed the basis of the modern European welfare state. The United Kingdom, as a modern welfare state, started to emerge with the Liberal welfare reforms of 1906–1914 under Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. The passing of the Old-Age Pensions Act in 1908, the introduction of free school meals in 1909, the 1909 Labour Exchanges Act, the Development Act 1909, which heralded greater Government intervention in economic development, and the enacting of the National Insurance Act 1911 setting up a national insurance contribution for unemployment and health benefits from work. The...
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...The Welfare Reform Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August22; 1996. Other government assisted programs with different guidelines were replaced by The Welfare Reform Act. The eligibility guidelines for The Welfare Reform Act were somewhat stricter than other government assisted programs that made it more difficult for some individuals to qualify. A reduction in welfare fraud has been achieved through The Welfare Reform Act that is due to the responsibility the individual on welfare must exhibit. The individual enrolled in a government program has the responsibility to inform the government or state agency of any household changes such as household size or a reduction or increase in income. These household changes must be reported to the agency as soon as they occur. This requirement increases the amount of responsibility required of the program participant; if these changes are not reported as soon as they are known, the individual may lose his or her benefits. A cap was placed on the length of time an individual may receive benefits on the program as well as the amount of cash assistance he or she is allowed to receive (Ku & Coughlin, 2010). The Welfare Reform Act also places great emphasis on the importance of individuals enrolled in a government or state assistance program involvement in job activities. It is a requirement that the individual actively seek gainful employment or participate in job training. An individual has a right to...
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...Ethical and Legal Concerns Regarding Welfare Reform Daniel Smith Business Law II, Park University Outline Ethical and Legal Concerns Regarding Welfare Reform I. Current House Vote A. Welfare Reform Act of 1996 II. Course of Welfare Reform Act A. Prejudice B. Economy III. What are President and Current Representatives saying regarding Act? A. Are Ethics being utilized properly? IV. Primary Objective of Welfare Reform Act A. Decrease Reliance B. Requirements C. Statistics D. Social Workers Some Democrats believe the 1996 welfare reform is better than the recommendations of the Obama Administration. “The House voted Thursday (September 20, 2012) to block the Obama Administration's unilateral weakening of welfare's work requirements, and political reporters are writing it off as a partisan primal scream if they notice at all.” (Unknown, 2012) All Republicans and nineteen Democrats showed their dislike of the current administrations path down the welfare reform road with an astounding 250-164 rout over welfare reform recommendations. That’s one-tenth of the Democratic caucus joining with the Republicans to say our people need welfare in its current state during these hard economic times. The Reform Act was started during the Clinton Administration in August of 1996. However, welfare has been a controversial issue since the 1960’s. It was not until the late 1980’s, when the citizens...
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...Moral Issues Welfare in the United States Moral Issues Welfare in the United States In our society today the welfare program is a hand out not a hand up. I believe that as a society we should go back to what the welfare system was when it was started in the colonies with the British Poor Laws. These laws established guidelines for two different groups of people. The first group was those that cannot work due to their age, or physical or mental health. This group was given assistance with cash and other forms from the government. The second group was those who could work but did not have a job. The people in this group were given help by giving them employment in workhouses. In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the Social Security Act “to provide for the general welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by enabling the several States to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws; to establish a Social Security Board; to raise revenue; and for other purposes.” Under this plan, it was easy to receive money, food and medical assistance if you were a single woman raising children, the more children you had the more assistance you received. This system has grown generations of families that have been dependent upon the government to support their children. In 1996, President...
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...American minds. Welfare reform has been a major controversy in the realm of social policy. Most Americans support the idea of equality, one of the values that our nation was founded on, although there seems to be no general agreement on how the government should alleviate poverty. The American welfare system as it is in its present state degrades the beneficiaries and serves to enrich the administrators. If the objective is to reduce poverty and promote self-sufficiency then the right signals are given off but the system is failing in practice. The key to reforming would be to combine work with education and training to help attain skills to increase beyond an entry-level position. To fully reform, the government must integrate developmental efforts in the welfare, work force, education and economic development area in an effort to create a stronger state and move people out of poverty and into self-sufficiency. Welfare was introduced in 1936 under a program entitled Aid to Dependent Children and it provided cash for low-income families with children. The number of people in the household and the total monthly income was the determining factor of an individual’s eligibility. For a household consisting of 4 people, if the income were less than $643, then you would be eligible. Recipients were required to enroll in an Employment First course that taught educational, social and work ethics to move individuals to a state of self-support. With good intentions, the welfare system did not...
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