Welfare to Work Programs

918 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on welfare in america

Societies for years have preached the theory of individual responsibility as the righteous route for it citizens to pursuit. The worth of a society is often based on the monetary network of individuals. Moreover, in the United States this is the norm to focus on individual responsibility. However, every society is faced with the conflict of poverty that requires some type of social welfare policy. Poverty is not a stranger to the United States and therefore it created program such as welfare to assist the poor. The welfare system has evolved over the years sometime for the good and others for the bad. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. This law changes the way welfare function. This paper will examine welfare to work programs in the United States.

I. Structural components

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 also known as (Welfare to work) objective was to end welfare. It further aimed at placing limits on benefits and to help improve on the collection of child support. President Clinton was acting on a promise he made during the Democratic National Convention to reform welfare by creating million of jobs. The Welfare reform Act purpose was to create jobs by incentivizing employers to hire welfare recipients by giving them tax credits.

“The critics of this law believed that it harmed the poor by reducing or ending benefits and requiring the recipients to find work within a two year or perform community service”(sourcewatch.org). Through this new law the states governments were eligible to receive block grant from the Federal government. The funds would be administered by the states to welf...

... middle of paper ...

...tive citizen and contribute to the revenues of the government. Moreover, the latent consequences of welfare to work are positive for society. Welfare to work program meet the test of social justice in that it give the recipients an opportunity to improve their life.

References

(No Author) 1996 Personal Responsibility &Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Retrieved April 2, 2011, from http://www.sourcewatch.org

Dolgoff, R. & Feldstein. (2009). Understanding social welfare: A search for social justice. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Stryker, R., & Wald, P. (2009). Redefining Compassion to Reform Welfare: How Supporters of 1990s US Federal Welfare Reform Aimed for the Moral High Ground. Social Politics, 16(4), 519. Retrieved April 2, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 1921506111).

Show More
Related

  • Social Welfare System Mini-Paper

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    This mini-paper will discuss the social welfare system. The mini-paper includes a discussion of welfare Policy, residual and institutional approach, and what is Social Welfare and Social Security. Midgely, (2009), pointed out that social welfare systems deliver services that facilitate and empower our society, especially to those persons who require assistance in meeting their basic human needs. The goal of social welfare is to provide social services to citizens from diverse cultures, and examples include Medicare, Medicaid, and food benefits. Midgley,( 2009).

    Read More

  • One Nation On Welfare By Michael Grunwald Summary

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    When speaking about Welfare we try to avoid it, turning welfare into an unacceptable word. In the Article “One Nation On Welfare. Living Your Life On The Dole” by Michael Grunwald, his point is to not just only show but prove to the readers that the word Welfare is not unacceptable or to avoid it but embrace it and take advantage of it. After reading this essay Americans will see the true way of effectively understanding the word welfare, by absorbing his personal experiences, Facts and Statistics, and the repetition Grunwald conveys.

    Read More

  • Flat Broke with Children: Women in the Age of Welfare Reform

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hays found that initially most welfare workers were optimistic and even excited about the changes. Most workers felt that the Act represented real progress and allowed for positive changes which would positively impact the lives of their clients. Hays spoke to one welfare who said that welfare reform “offered the training and services necessary to 'make our clients' lives better, to make them better mothers, to make them more productive.'” But as she was soon to find out, welfare reform, while it did have a positive impact on the lives of some welfare clients, made the lives of most clients more difficult, not to mention the stress that it caused for the welfare workers who had to deal with the often confusing and illogical new rules.

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Welfare Reform

    2400 Words  | 5 Pages

    O?Beirne, Kate. ?The State of Welfare: An old and tricky question resurfaces.? National Review 54.2 (February 11, 2002): 1--2. Online. Information Access Expanded

    Read More

  • The Pros of Welfare Reform

    364 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the summer of 1996, Congress finally passed and the President signed the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996", transforming the nation's welfare system. The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act sets the stage for ongoing reconstruction of welfare systems on a state-by-state basis. The combined programs will increase from nearly $100 billion this year to $130 billion per year in 6 years. Programs included are for food stamps, SSI, child nutrition, foster care, the bloss grant program for child- care, and the new block grant to take the place of AFDC. All of those programs will seek $700 billion over the next 6 years, from the taxpayers of America. This program in its reformed mode will cost $55 billion less than it was assumed to cost if there were no changes and the entitlements were left alone. The current welfare system has failed the very families it was intended to serve. If the present welfare system was working so well we would not be here today.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Family Support Act

    139 Words  | 1 Pages

    In 1988, Congress enacted the Family Support Act that combined an emphasis on education and training to help move Welfare recipients into jobs. As a governor, Bill Clinton was a strong proponent of the Family Support Act, but he campaigned for the presidency on a pledge to "end welfare as we know it." In 1994, the Work and Responsibility Act was passed. It also put more money into education and training for welfare recipients but had a limit of two years. This act was phased in slowly, starting with recipients that were born after 1971. “This phase-in had three advantages: it sent a message of personal responsibility to the younger generation; it gave states time to expand their ability to provide the necessary training and work opportunities;

    Read More

  • Summary Of Michael Burke's Welfare Reform

    242 Words  | 1 Pages

    One way Michael Burke, in his article “Welfare reform 20 years later: what worked, what didn’t,” effectively argues the importance of knowing the state of which the welfare reform is currently in is by appealing to logos and pathos. Throughout the article, Burke provides statistics and history on what welfare is and why it was created in the first place. He states “In establishing the program, the federal government, for the first time, took responsibility for helping children with a parent who was dead, gone or otherwise incapacitated...from 1996 to 2000, employment rates among never-married mothers shot from 63% to 76%, according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).” By providing statistics he was able to provide

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle of the States and Federal Government in the United States

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... objective was to pull out people from poverty as the poor migrates to the urban were duly attracted to the incentives provided by the welfare. Not only has it reduced the amount of federal spending it also provides the welfare to be more efficient as the people are only allowed to receive federal support with a limited time span.

    Read More

  • The United States: The Reluctant Welfare State

    2138 Words  | 5 Pages

    Blau, J. (2004). The dynamics of social welfare policy. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

    Read More

  • The History of Welfare in America

    2743 Words  | 6 Pages

    Welfare has been a safety net for many Americans, when the alternative for them is going without food and shelter. Over the years, the government has provided income for the unemployed, food assistance for the hungry, and health care for the poor. The federal government in the nineteenth century started to provide minimal benefits for the poor. During the twentieth century the United States federal government established a more substantial welfare system to help Americans when they most needed it. In 1996, welfare reform occurred under President Bill Clinton and it significantly changed the structure of welfare. Social Security has gone through significant change from FDR’s signing of the program into law to President George W. Bush’s proposal of privatized accounts.

    Read More

  • Welfare and Government Assistance Policy Recommendations

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being raised in a single-parent lower class home, I realize first-hand the need for welfare and government assistance programs. I also realize that the system is very complex and can become a crutch to people who become dependent and complacent. As a liberal American I do believe that the government should provide services to the less fortunate and resources to find work. However, as able-bodied citizens we should not become complacent with collecting benefits and it is the government’s job to identify people who take advantage of the system and strip benefits from people who are not making efforts to support themselves independently. I will identify errors that exist within the welfare system and several policy recommendations to implement a change that will counteract the negative conditions that currently exist.

    Read More

  • Food Stamps to SNAP

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dolgoff, R. & Feldstein, D. (2003). Understanding social welfare (7th ed). New York, Allen & Bacon

    Read More

  • Welfare Reform Has Increased Poverty Summary

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    She argues the differences in the amount of support given to low-income families living near or below the poverty line as well as people without jobs or means to support their families otherwise. As a result political figures holding similar views will attempt to change government programs. The president Bill Clinton was successfully able to overhaul the welfare program in 1996. This article relates to Tunner and Pimpare article because it shows how the social welfare reforms has not make a significant impact to individuals well living for low-income families living near or below the poverty

    Read More

  • America's Semi-Welfare State

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    The prospect of the welfare state in America appears to be bleak and almost useless for many citizens who live below the poverty line. Katz’s description of the welfare state as a system that is “partly public, partly private, partly mixed; incomplete and still not universal; defeating its own objectives” whereas has demonstrates how it has become this way by outlining the history of the welfare state which is shown that it has been produced in layers. The recent outcomes that Katz writes about is the Clinton reform in 1996 where benefits are limited to a period of two years and no one is allowed to collect for more than five years in their lifetime unless they are exempted. A person may only receive an exemption on the grounds of hardship in which states are limited to granting a maximum of 20% of the recipient population. The logic behind this drastic measure was to ensure that recipients would not become dependent upon relief and would encourage them to seek out any form of employment as quickly as possible. State officials have laid claim to this innovation as a strategy that would “save millions of children from poverty.” However, state officials predict otherwise such as an increase in homelessness, a flooding of low-waged workers in the labour market, and decreased purchasing power which means less income from tax collections. The outcomes of this reform appear to be bleak for many Americans who reside below the poverty line. How does a wealthy country like America have such weak welfare system? Drawing upon Katz, I argue that the development of the semi-welfare state is a result of the state taking measures to ensure that the people do not perceive relief as a right and to avoid exploiting the shortfalls of capitalism ...

    Read More

  • Welfare Poverty Paper

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    One might believe that work requirements do little work for those under the poverty line. Others may believe they increase the chance of job opportunity. Many experts believe that work-capability can work or prepare in exchange for receiving government benefits. The welfare law requires cash assistance to participate in work activities, for extending similar work requirements to other public programs. However, one who supports the view that work requirements are highly effected can be explained later on in this paper. For example; most recipients with significant obstacles to employment never found work even after participating in work programs that were otherwise successful. Over the long term, the successful programs support efforts to boost the education and skills of work requirements, rather than simply requiring them to search for work or find a job. Many of those who argued that work requirement in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have been a major success for mandatory programs conducted either before the creation or during the early years. I believe that many individuals are unlikely to find jobs on their own and have the most to gain from the employment assistance that TANF was supposed to provide. Work requirements rest on the assumption that disadvantaged individuals will work only if they are forced to do so. Despite the efforts that many poor individuals and families put into working

    Read More

More about Welfare to Work Programs

Open Document