Universal And Residual Models Of Social Welfare

1.Write a brief definition of social welfare policy that makes sense to you at this point. Distinguish between the Institutional and Residual Models, and universal and selective programs, providing definitions and examples of each.

To understand social welfare policy in America today, one must first understand the meaning of social welfare. At its most basic definition, social welfare is the idea that an individual’s social needs must be met to live optimally; receiving social welfare is determined on the policies that are created by social institutions and the model that these institutions hold (Midgley, 2017). Policies are created in religious, government, and work organizations to structure the system. Social Welfare policies are the policies

To receive temporary aid selective programs are given based on individual eligibility (Rodriguez, 2017). Government relief such as cash assistance and food stamps fit in with this model. To qualify for food stamps, one must be earning minimum wage and the value of food stamps decreases with the increase of earnings. Cash relief works in a similar system and for every dollar that one earns, one receives one less dollar which is essentially a hundred percent tax rate (Tussing, 1974). Aside from being hard to receive, welfare under the residual model holds an intense stigma of being for the helpless, the needy and weak. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the institutional model believes that aid should be preventive and universal for all people regardless of income (Rodriguez,2017). Universal Programs are a right and are available to all people with little strings attached. This lessens the stigma that is attached to receiving help. One example of a universal program would be Michelle Obama’s initiative to change school lunches. This allowed all children to eat a healthy lunch regardless of socioeconomic class. Universal programs are federally based since they help all citizens of