Government-funded human services are defined in specific terms in relation to state-level administrative structures and the state’s annual budget. These services do not technically include significant portions of the budget devoted to health care and education. Human services—thus narrowly defined—are primarily delivered by the Department of Human Services (IDHS), Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), Department of Aging (DoA), Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (IDVA). When defined in this manner, human services account for over 23% (over $6 billion) of the current fiscal year’s (2010) State Operating Budget.
Human service-oriented state departments, and the contracted nonprofit agencies that most often deliver these services, are particularly financially endangered during the current recession. It’s important to understand why this is the case, as these services are delivered to many of the most vulnerable among us: the physically and developmentally disabled, the elderly, poor children, at-risk youth, the mentally ill, and those in need of addiction treatment.
Two major economic factors determine our current predicament of enormous budget shortfalls: the recession caused by the speculative housing bubble and stock market crash and consequently lowered state revenues (income tax and sales tax); and the long-term structural deficit of our state’s taxation system. This structural deficit reflects the decades-long disappearance of at least 200,000 well-paid manufacturing jobs and overall stagnant wages—as well as the dysfunctionally flat, low, and regressive state income tax.
According to the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, we have experienced a decade-long...
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Since 2008, the federal government has infused trillions of dollars to “save” the financial system—Wall Street and the major banks. The $700 billion stimulus package was, in comparison, a drop in the bucket, both in relation to the financial bailout and the need for $2 trillion of heightened consumer demand. In that context, funds directed at human services have already divided those drops several times over. Given these realities, it is incumbent upon our state officials and legislature to act decisively to address both immediate needs and the long-term structural deficit. It is difficult to understand inaction in the face of both dire necessity and clearly available solutions. Given the understanding and political will, our state can easily move from being the worst example to the best. The leadership, however, will have to originate at a popular level.
...vailable for stimulus programs to boost the economy out of the 2008 financial crisis. This caused fewer jobs to be created, which meant less tax revenue and more debt.
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
To define the terminology of federalism to a simplistic way is the sharing of sovereignty between the national government and the local government. It is often described as the dual sovereignty of governments between the national and the local to exert power in the political system. In the US it is often been justified as one of the first to introduce federalism by the ‘founding fathers’ which were developed in order to escape from the overpowered central government. However, federalism in the United States is hitherto uncertain where the power lies in the contemporary political system. In this essay I will outline and explain how power relationship alternates between states and federal government. Moreover I will also discuss my perspective by weighing the evidence based upon resources. Based on these resources, it will aid me to evaluate the recent development in the federal-state relationship.
So what’s wrong with California now? The only problem is the tremendous amount of debt accumulated over the years. What makes people think that Arnold will be able to restore California? At one of his campaign tours around the state, people waited two hours to hear him s...
U.S Federal Deficit and Debts:Understanding the history and context. (2011, November 1). Utah Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2014, from http://www.utahfoundation.org/img/pdfs/rr7
Kenneth Ashworth, a public servant, has served Texas and its fine education for more than thirty years and knows all the ins and outs of how the government works. He has written his book to benefit his niece, who has decided to follow in his footsteps, of all of his dealings from problematic politicians to many life lessons that have shaped him. Intended for his niece, this book has opened the minds for not only me and my peers, but for students around the state. After reading Caught between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to Survive Public Service, Kenneth Ashworth makes a truthful point of knowing what the differences of personal responsibility and social responsibility is as a bureaucrat. Ashworth shows that social and personal responsibility can be two of the same if the morals of the person acting upon them are in good conscious.
Many Americans today in the United States participate in some form of social welfare. Social welfare program, any of a variety of governmental programs designed to protect citizens from the economic risks and insecurities of life. These programs provide benefits to the elderly or retired, the sick or invalid, dependent survivors, mothers, the unemployed, the work-injured, and families. Just in case my client are unaware of the programs I will give them a list of programs from the federal safety net website such as Negative Income Tax – Two tax credit programs are administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to distribute money to low-income Americans. The tax credits include a “refundable” portion
Medicaid is a broken system that is largely failing to serve its beneficiary’s needs. Despite its chronic failures to deliver quality health care, Medicaid is seemingly running up a gigantic tab for tax payers (Frogue, 2003). Medicaid’s budget woes are secondary to its insignificant structure, leaving its beneficiaries with limited choices, when arranging for their own health care. Instead, regulations are set in order to drive costs down; instead of allowing Medicaid beneficiaries free rein to choose whom they will seek care from (Frogue, 2003)
reason for the financial crisis, which is not the case. Only 4 percent of California's budget is spent
Many residents in the United States receive healthcare through various forms, such as insurance’s, Medicaid or Medicare. Medicaid is health care for the low income including children, pregnant women, disabled, blind and elders (Adams). According to the Congressional Budget Office there are about 51 million people that are covered by Medicaid and also it the largest drain on state budgets (Adams). Most countries have some type of form of health care they provide, for example, Japan is a democratic country that provide health care, but is different from other countries. There are also many interest groups that either agree or disagree with expanding Medicaid. The New Hampshire (NH) Community Behavioral Health Association and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) are two of the many interest groups that are in favor of expanding Medicaid’s spending, as well as RTI International. However, Ohio Right to Life and Cleveland Right to Life are interest groups that oppose the expansion of Medicaid.
Many people face obstacles every day of their lives, but when it comes to getting assistance around these obstacles many people do not have a way to do that. A client for human services will put up their own barriers to avoid having to deal with asking for assistance and until they work through some of those barriers they are not going to be able to get the assistance they need. Some of the barriers that they face include not having money to pay for the services, not having transportation to get to the place where the services are provided, and not having time to be able to travel to receive the services (Woodside & McClam, 2015). Clients in the United States are not the only ones facing these barriers it is happening worldwide
Honberg, Ron, Sita Diehl, Darcy Grutatardo, and Mike Fitzpatrick. State Mental Health Cuts: A National
The field of human service consists of particular goals and objectives of human needs, and it promotes improved services delivery systems by addressing the overall quality of life of service population. Similarly, Human service delivery system focuses on how human service professionals approach their work. While encompassing a broad range of idea, Human service is a unique useful and purposeful discipline aiming to assist human needs and communities through an interdisciplinary knowledge base. Human services professional is a generic term for people who hold professional and paraprofessional jobs, and it concerns to improve the quality of life of people, accessibility, accountability, and co-ordination among professional and agencies in service
Barton, P.L. (2010). Understanding the U.S. health services system. (4th ed). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
"In the Middle Ages men were united by custom and prescription into associations, ranks, guilds, and communities of various kinds. These ties endured as long as life lasted. Consequently, society was dependant, throughout all its details, on status, and the tie, or bond, was sentimental. In out modern state, and in the United States more than anywhere else, the social structure is based on contract, and status is of the least importance." This quote by William Graham Sumner in his 1883 speech "What Social Classes Owe to Each Other" illustrates my main focus of this week's proposed question, "Does American Government have an obligation to provide for the poor?" Sumner supports that the American Government does not have an obligation to provide for the poor because in America, all people have the opportunity to work hard and bring themselves out of poverty, where in Europe and their other native lands, people were trapped in a caste system in which they could not escape. In America, there was is a defined class system in which those living in the society were confined and hard work, followed by success, is a luxury offered in America. By living in a free state like America, Sumner says, its citizens live equally among one another in a society based on a contract, which allows the most leeway for individual developments and successes. Every man must fend for himself in this society that allows for personal establishment. Sumner also says, "It follows, however, that one man, in a free state, cannot claim help from, and cannot be charged to give help to, another." He directly says that it cannot be imposed upon the American Government that hard-working tax-paying citizens should have to financially assist the plight of the poor. The Populist Party Platform of 1892 says in its second declaration that "Wealth belongs to him that creates it...If any will not work, neither shall he eat." The Populist Party realized that men were fully entitled to their earned keep and should they not work, they should not be provided for by the government, especially not by collected tax money.