Social Welfare System

1. Social Welfare System • ....Those goods and services that a society believes to be a collective responsibility. • Although the terms convey a sense of order, social welfare in this country has been rather patchy and unplanned.

2. Social Welfare System • The U.S. has the highest poverty rate of six industrialized countries. • The U.S. has the highest rate of young-child poverty of any Western industrialized country. • Yet, assistance programs in the U.S. have brought millions of people out of poverty and provided medical care, education, food, housing and cash assistance to the poor

3. The Social Welfare System • Social Security • 1935 the federal goverment took responsibility for helping needy families, the aged and the disabled with the Social Security Act. • It is paid entirely through payroll taxes; FICA. • This is your contribution to your retirement. • It is matched by your employer.

4. Social Security • Has been very successful antipoverty program. • 1959 - 35% of the elderly lived in poverty • 1998 - 10% live in poverty

5. AFDC • Aid to Families with Dependent Children • Temporary Assistance to Needy Families • TANF • Provides income to families with dependent children • Generally single parent families, but on a limited basis two parent families • About 95% of single parents are women

6. AFDC • Was part of the Social Security Act • Personal Responsibility and Work Act 1996 removed federal control and provided states with block grants • Conservatives saw this as a victory over an out of control welfare system; Liberals called it “legislative child abuse.”

7. Supplemental Security Income • Federal program for the aged, disabled, and blind, including children • created as part of the Social Security Act of 1974. • consolidated two other programs of assistance • 1997 there were 6.6 million SSI recipients. • States supplement SSI payments • 1993 Congress ordered states to be billed for administrative costs of services

8. General Assistance • Gives cash grants to people who do not qualify for AFDC, SSI, or Social Security • funded by states and local funds • usually benefits are very low • tends to be a catchall for individuals who are in need of assistance but do not qualify for other types of welfare services.

9. Food Stamps • Paid for by the U.S. Department of Agriculture • Administered by state welfare departments • Provides food for low-income people, but also provides subsidies to farmers. • Stores and banks also receive money for participating. • 1994 - 24,476,000 received food stamps

10. WIC • Women, Infants, and Children • provides vouchers to purchase specific foods • baby formula • milk • eggs • fruit juice • provides nutrition screening and counseling to pregnant and postpartum women • eligible if family income is below 185% of poverty line and are at nutritional risk

11. Medical Aid Programs • Medicare • anyone age 65 or older who was at one time covered at work by Social Security is eligible • Medicaid • only low-income people are eligible for this type of assistance

12. Medicare • Helps pay hospital and medical costs • Anything not paid by Medicare is often paid through supplemental insurance • as medical costs rise the elderly are paying more for their health care • There is no long-term care provision in Medicare for nursing home or in-home assistance

13. Medicaid • Pays for health care for: • low income families with children • low income elderly • people with disabilities • Federal government pays for 58%; states pay the rest • States administer the program set much of the policy

14. Medicaid • In 1997 - 39.7 million people received Medicaid • 49% of households below the poverty level received Medicaid • 51% of people who are eligible do not receive Medicaid

15. Many other social services • Unemployment Insurance • Earned Income Tax Credit • Personal Social Services • Day care for children of working parents • Homemaker service • Foster care • Community residences for mentally ill • Shelters and many more

16. Where does the money come from • Various levels of government • city • county • state • federal • Private Sources • However, in most cases agencies are mix of both public and private funds.

17. Where the money goes • Contracting out - state and local governments contract with private firms to do the bureaucratic work that states used to • Privatization is where the government pays corporations (primarily doctors and hospitals). • Now in: child care, ambulatory health care, substance abuse care, psychiatric, home care, and even some prisons

18. Changes in the economy • We have a booming economy • But, who is it booming for? • Lots of wealth created - 99% has gone to the top 20% of households • Bill Gates now owns more than 40% of American households ($40 billion) • The number of billionaires in this country has increased from 13 (1982) to 170 (1997)

19. Changes in the economy • Moved from an industrial economy to a service economy • Service sector jobs tend to pay less, unless in the high-technology fields • Wages have generally gone down since the 1970s • The number of people who work yet are still poor is at its highest level in decades

20. Changes in the economy • Children are the hardest hit by poverty, especially children of color • There has been a rise in single-parent families which are much poorer than two parent families • Women make up the majority of single parent families • Increasing poverty leads to increasing homelessness

21. Poverty Thresholds • Size of Family Unit Estimated Threshold • 1 person (unrelated individual)..... $8,500 • Under 65 years ................... 8,667 • 65 years and over ................ 7,991 • 2 persons .......................... $10,869 • Householder under 65 years ....... 11,214 • Householder 65 years and over .... 10,080 • 3 persons .......................... $13,290 • 4 persons .......................... 17,028 • 5 persons .......................... 20,115