Social Policy refers to the development of welfare, social administration and

policies of the government used for social protection. Social policy is related to the
governmental approach of development of social services towards formation of a
welfare state (Alcock, 2003). British welfare state is associated with 'poor laws'
established to cater to the needs of the poor. Social policy is not just a mere
academic subject but relates to social and economic conditions of a country, how to
promote these conditions for the development of a welfare state. Social policy,
administration and social work are all aimed at the administration of welfare and the
main areas of concern include tackling of social problems, administration of health,
education and employment services, community care, crime and disability. Social
policy is also related to issues of race, poverty, gender and the relevant collective
responsibility of society and community (Coffey, 2004). Social policy is heavily
dependent on related disciplines of social work, psychology, law, economics,
sociology, politics, economics, philosophy and public health.Since 1930 the United
States has had some program helping to provide social welfare. The policy's that
began as ways to help America out of the depression have become ways to
preserve, and improve social wellbeing. In this Paper I, will examine areas of policy
and policy making in social welfare. I will discuss the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Social Security, and Homelessness,
and the types of politics associated with them.
In 1996 congress passed a bill reforming the welfare program. The Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 changed many of
the policies of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities
and Basic Skills Training (JOBS). It unified these two programs under Temporary Aid
to Needy Families (TANF). One of the reasons that this reform was needed was
because of the need for legitimacy associated with client politics. For the public to
support aid to people they must see good reason for it. When AFDC was first
created, it was for siding single mothers whose husband had been killed in war or
mining accidents, it was not meant to be permanent aid. The public saw this as a
legitimate reason for giving aid to these people. However, as the years went on,
people began to see a moral breakdown in the structure of AFDC. It began to be
viewed as a government handout that supported people who were using the
system. Mothers would be on it that never planned on being married, it supported
out of wedlock childbirths, and it weakened work ethics. At this point the legitimacy
of the program had been lost, people wanted a service based program rather than a
handout. Some of the changes that were made, were allowing states to have more
decision-making power in the programs. Since the states would more easily assess
problems, they could more easily distribute benefits effectively.
Our society has many factors that would be responsible for this system of social
inequality. For example, gender, race, religion, family background and social status
determine how successful one may be. The government should provide a Welfare
System to help the poor. The objective of the welfare system is move people from
depending on the government to supporting themselves. Advantages of the
government providing the poor with a welfare system include political, social and
economically. The people within the Democratic Party are liberal people that
support the welfare system. By supporting the welfare system the Democratic will
receive more votes in an election. Since the Democratic Party is trying to get be the
majority party in the government, supporting the welfare system would be a
political advantage. Without a welfare system there would be more homeless people
creating less voters. Without some type of low end balance it could start to change
to a monopoly or dictatorship b/c as you get poor you have no way out what so
ever, so only the rich would survive once a person hits bottom level.
To conclude my summary on social welfare, given that a welfare system will
help society as a whole by taking more people off the street. A welfare system will
help people to continue to obtain a higher level of education making them feel a
part of the norms. It would provide people of getting resources to better themselves
in every aspect. Society can socialize more since there would be more similarities
between the rich and the poor. Also, that there wouldn't be as much class
boundaries. Ones social class would be upgraded. The economic advantage that
would affect the government with providing the welfare system is that it would help
maintain an adequate supply of jobs. It looks good on the government when
unemployment rates are low, meanwhile it is self-rewarding to people that they
have a step forward into bettering themselves. If the government spends more
money into the welfare system then it would help eliminate poverty.