Ch 3. Conceptual Foundations of Social Welfare Flashcards
Paradigms
Patterns or models that provide a framework
Theories
Systems of ideas to explain
Ideologies
Ideas to guide
What are the ideologies of the social welfare system?
- Cause and Function
- Blaming the Victim
- The Culture of Poverty and the Underclass
- Conservative and Liberal Political Perspectives
- Biological Determinism
- Social Welfare Services as a Right
Cause and Function
Cause it the issue on which people take a moral position to improve society
Function is the day-to-day effort to provide services
Porter Lee believed that workers should support the cause while carrying out their daily duties.
What conflict between cause and function is present?
To what extent should people take action and fight for a cause, and to what extent should they tend to their daily lives.
Some theories argue that supporting both is impossible and one must choose between the two.
What is an example of the struggle between cause and function?
When a client lives in a dangerous neighborhood, should the social worker help the client move, or should the worker fight to change the neighborhood?
Blaming the Victim
Introduced by William Ryan: poverty and other concerns are viewed as personal rather than social.
Holding each person responsible for his or her circumstances.
The Culture of Poverty and the Underclass
A cultural destiny passed through generations; some people are born poor and socialize to remain poor
The only way to help the poor is to teach the poor a new culture
William Julius Wilson believed that the solution to poverty and related problems is for both institutions and individuals to change
Conservative Political Perspective
- Government intervention is seen as a waste of taxpayers dollars
- people at top have worked hard, earned their success
- Social programs are viewed as providing benefits to those who do not need them or as creating a dependency that encourages people to stop caring for themselves.
Liberal Political Perspective
Social Welfare policies are regarded as being so important that they should be legislated by the government.
Liberals view the government as being a referee to ensure fairness and a provider to correct imbalances and inequities
How is it possible to identify as both conservative and liberal?
A person might describe themselves as fiscally conservative and socially liberal.
Meaning they do not support major government intervention in the economic realm, but favor government roles in social services and promoting civil rights.
If policy makers believe that the social welfare of all citizens is a high priority, how should they view the debate of which perspective is better between conservative and liberal?
The debate about which perspective is better needs to be changed to the perspective of what will be the most beneficial for the most people.
Biological Determinism
Ones heredity predetermines/strongly influences, the level of social and economic position a person achieves.
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Those at the top economically and socially got there because of innate inherited abilities.
This ignores environment, social surroundings, access to opportunities such as educational and employment opportunities, and resources and privileges, available to a person born to the right parents, classes, races, or social stratification.
Social Welfare Services as a Right
A function of public purpose over private interest; Social welfare programs should not be viewed as an afterthought provided selectively, but as a social right provided through a universal system.
Richard M. Titmuss argues that the private market system is plagued by the problems of inequality, social injustice, and exclusion.
Poorly educated, ill-clothed, homeless, disenfranchised individuals, cannot participate fully in the market system because they are so far outside of it.
Individuals cannot change the discrimination and exclusion imposed on them by others.
What would be an example of a social welfare service that aligns with the theory that social welfare services should be a right?
Health Care is a right to which all people are entitled, regardless of their own resources.
They argue that the only way to make healthcare a right is through universal coverage provided by the government.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Industrialization and the Social Welfare System
Industrial expansion created a need for social welfare policies and programs.
Created new jobs and poor working conditions
Changes in economics, communities, and family relations demanded a change in social welfare policies.
What needs did workers expect through industry and government as a result of industrialization?
Safety in the workplace, a guaranteed minimum wage, regulated work hours and conditions, social insurance for retirement, disability compensation, and survivors’ benefits in the event of death.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Cycles of History
Policies cycle between individual responsibilities and social responsibilities
Between public purpose and private interest
During the cycles, each period runs its course and brings about change
The cycles shift with generations; 30 year cycles
Cycles of History:
Why do periods of public purpose follow times of private interests?
When public purpose is the dominant influence, sweeping changes are made in a short period of time. Sustained public action requires energy and intense political commitment so people tire of a this level of activity and need to regroup.
Therefore, periods of public purpose are followed by times of private interest, when people become immersed in their personal lives.
Cycles of History:
During periods of private interest, what happens to changes that were previously brought about by public action?
The changes are absorbed and people focus on privatization and personal acquisition.
Eventually, private interest leads to dissatisfaction because acquisition is not possible for everyone and segments of society are in need.
Therefore, the course of history shifts and the cycle continues
What are 2 historical periods that would be examples of a cycle of history?
- Around the turn of the century the progressive movement called for public action and the materialistic, acquisitive period of the 1920’s followed
- The Great depression in the 1930’s and the outcry for public action and the return to private interest characterized by conservatism and material growth in the 1950s
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Social Control
Those in positions of power use the institutions of the social welfare system to control and direct the behavior of the needy.
Residual social welfare programs and low benefits become a tool of control.
Policies alternate between periods of minimal benefits and broader ones.
By creating a residual social welfare program and keeping benefits low, the powers that be ensure that most people will not be inclined to rely on public assistance but will instead be willing to work, even at low paying jobs.
In the social control theory why do policies alternate between periods of minimal benefits and broader ones?
When benefits become too low to meet basic needs, social unrest develops , and programs are expanded.
In this way, shifts are made in benefit amounts and eligibility, but basic system remains intact.
What time in history would be an example that would fall under the social control theory?
The 1930s and 1960s were times when coverage and benefits for public assistance expanded. They both began with social movements and ended with expansions in the social welfare system.
After the expansions, social unrest dissipated.
These periods are evidence of attempts to regulate the poor through social control.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Elite Power Theory
The idea that a “handful” of people control the policies that govern all of society.
The elite control of public policy as the domination of the nation by a small capitalist class. The dominant elite class is well connected to those who make public policy.
Review Chart on pg. 68 of the book for more detail
How are social control theory and elite power theory similar?
Power gets redistributed when average people organize to disrupt the system.
The process is often supported by those in power both as a response to the disruption AND an attempt by the elite class to hold onto its position of power.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Economics as a Determinant of Social Welfare Policy
Economics is a driving force behind the policies and politics of social well-being
Times of economic growth are marked by an emphasis on individual responsibility
Economic slow downs call for increased demand for government intervention
Explain how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could be the result of the theory of Economics as a Determinant of Social Welfare Policy?
Support for government funded health insurance grew not only in response to public concern about the economic imbalance between working and not receiving health care coverage, but in response to the economic bottom line for businesses–Profitability.
The cost of health insurance for employees was growing and affecting their economic profitability so, if the federal government were to step in to provide health insurance, businesses would be able to remove themselves from the role and cost of being the source of health insurance.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Critical Theory
Combines elements of social control, elite power, and economics in explaining policy
Examines social life with the goal of evaluating the U.S. social order and the ways in which power and domination impact people’s lives/the social order
Critical theory includes prescriptions for change that liberate oppressed people from people in power.
How is the social welfare program ‘Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ is an illustration of the Critical Theory?
Although TANF addresses poverty, its recipients are primarily low-income single women and children who are disproportionately people of color and the policy makers were mostly white male legislators with high levels of education and income.
Therefore, a deconstruction of the TANF from the critical theory perspective means not only looking at the economics of poverty but also at the ways in which gender, race, class, and family composition fit in and at who is making decisions on how the program is constructed.
What is the Call for Action in the critical theory?
The element of consciousness raising and praxis, or social action.
The call for action includes the process of self-reflection and ultimately, once people understand the imbalance of power, they can begin the process of social change and liberate those who are oppressed.
A theory of evolution of the social welfare system:
Postindustrialization and Globalization
The postindustrial era was a new Era of social welfare beginning in the 1980s.
Globalization was increasing connectedness of the world’s economy.
What were two main influences of change to the U.S. social welfare system according to the Postindustrialization and Globalization theory?
The movement of women into the labor force and the aging of the U.S. population.
The demographic shift of women into the workplace has affected social welfare policies more than any other single factor in recent years.
The pattern since the 1980s has not just been a story of retrenchment (cutting back expenses) but that also one of significant restructuring
How does the shift of women entering the workforce explain the restructuring of the social welfare system?
The traditional social services related to the needs of the male breadwinner were cut back to accommodate the new women and family centered policies (family leave, child care credits).
The system did not radically change rather, the focus has shifted to accommodate the changing demographic and social needs of the nation.
Paradigms of the Social Welfare System
Patterns or models that form a picture to help us understand social phenomena.
By analyzing social welfare policy with these models, we can understand why policies evolved the way they did.
With those insights, we can find ways to make social welfare policies and programs more effective and appropriate.
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Social Construction
People create a shared reality. When those who are dominant in a society define a group’s characteristics and determine the group’s value. These perceptions are accepted as norms.
The views are reinforced through values and beliefs, and then passed on to others through stories, language, and interpretations.
Social construction means that framing of different groups can lead to change
What are some examples of social constructions?
- “women are too weak to work in physical labor”
- “all men are strong”
- “all women are nurturers”
- Slavery was once considered acceptable, today it is outlawed through public policy
Explain the paradigm in which social construction provides a lens through which to analyze social welfare policy.
If social programs are designed to support the family model of two heterosexual parents, with the male working ful-time
How can social construction lead to social change?
If all policies are framed by values and beliefs reinforced by dominant groups, then we have the power to change the way issues are viewed and hence change policy.
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Critical Analysis
Based on Critical Theory
Way of viewing world that seeks to understand what is underlying the social norm or social policy
Deconstruction – analysis to take apart what is said or written, consider context
Key is to look for power imbalances
It can be controversial because it calls for action to change the control and distribution of power in policy making
How does the women’s civil rights movement reflect critical analysis?
It was based on critical analysis of how men dominated social, political, and economic domains in society and women had been relegated to secondary status.
Awareness to this difference led to a social movement demanding changes that allowed women access to the same levels of power that men had.
Policy analysis of gender differences in society, accompanied by social action to change that imbalance, combined to demonstrate the application of the critical analysis paradigm.
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Distributive Model of Justice
The social obligation of the state to all its citizens to provide agreed-upon social benefits that are not only fair to the recipients but that contribute to the betterment of U.S. society
Rawls argued that public adherence to justice is fundamental to a well-ordered society.
What does the distributive justice paradigm call for?
It calls for us to identify what social benefits should be provided to all citizens, and then create ways to ensure a fair allocation of those benefits.
Example: If education is believed to be a social benefit (i.e. that the receipt of it helps both the individual and all of society), then we must strive to find ways to ensure that all citizens have access to quality education.
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Procedural Model of Justice
Involves the institutional methods or processes that take place to make decisions; tends to be legal in structure
Procedural justice stresses the fair representation and participation of all those impacted by social welfare.
Entitling all to just procedures has been found to increase satisfaction with outcomes and decrease conflict.
How can developing processes that allow for fair representation and participation be challenging?
Social constructs such as withholding voting rights based on race historically kept African Americans out of the processes of government decision making.
Even today, many people worry that access to elected officials is skewed toward those with greater resources and social standing, making the processes of deciding what services and benefits should be distributed closed and not reflective of procedural justice.
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Strength-Based Model
Emphasizes positive attributes over negative
In social welfare policy, this means building policies and programs on people’s existing strengths
Assumes that when people’s positive capacities are supported, they are more likely to act on their strengths.
Describe an example of a strength-based model paradigm.
If parents want to stay home with their children, and there is a social benefit from adults being at home and available to their children, regardless of whether they are single parents or married, then social supports should be found to allow parents to stay home.
This builds on the strength of adult caregiving without emphasizing how a family should be structured
A Paradigm of the Social Welfare System:
Social Empathy
Calls for us to use insight gained about people’s lives to develop public policies that are sensitive to people’s needs based on the realities of their living situations.
Consider policies and programs that ask the question “how would it feel for me to need or be a recipient of that service?”
How might someone have trouble understanding social empathy?
If they have never been poor or never experiences discrimination that has kept them from educational and employment opportunities.
If a persons frame of reference is that every thing in life depends on individual efforts, then the person will not see any value in social responsibility.
Social Work Professional Paradigm
Social Work has professional principles and ethics.
Each social worker, in receiving a degree, agrees to abide by the profession’s values. These values include fostering self-determination on the part of the clients and promoting the general welfare of society.
They also demonstrate that workers are obligated to advocate for social welfare policies and programs that promote social justice, respect diversity, and improve social conditions.
How do conflicting beliefs enter into the discussion of ideologies, theories, and paradigms?
Beliefs sway thinking and hence play a significant role in people’s interests in a particular ideology, theory, or paradigm.
Understanding one’s own beliefs is an important first step in analyzing social welfare policies.
Once people are aware of their own biases and preferences, they can better understand how and why they perceive their social surroundings the way they do.
what impacts how a person thinks about policy issues?
political, social, religious and economic ideologies
means testing
A method for determining whether someone qualifies for a financial-assistance program
What does social justice do?
- protect human rights
- provide basic human needs
- motivates social workers to be advocates
What are 5 goals of advocacy?
- fairness
- equality
- freedom
- service
- nonviolence
- fairness
-What programs were part of the Social Security Act in 1935?
-social security and medicare
What was added to the Social Security Act later in the 1960s?
-food stamps, medicaid, headstart
What are the 5 steps involved in the social work change process?
- engagement
- assessment
- planning
- implementation
- evaluation
social work roles
- advocate
- broker
- case manager
- counselor
- mediator
- navigator
- researcher
Advocate
Someone who speaks up for disempowered people
Broker
Connects individuals to needed resources or services
Case Manager
Takes responsibility for coordinating things that is going on in his/her life
Counselor
Uses one on one talk therapy to help create a rap-ore and relationship to help people with problems in life
Mediator
Gets involved in situations of conflict
Example: child custody, impartial reference
Navigator
Helps clients navigate through paperwork
Researcher
Develops new knowledge of info to help people down the road
Engagement
Forming relationship to elicit response from client
Assessment
Takes a long look at persons life and try to come up with diagnosis
Implementation
Carry out plan you created
Feminiztion of poverty
77 cents on the male dollar
Single & divorced mothers are more likely to be in poverty because they’re more likely to be responsible for children
Patterns of income distribution and wealth disparity and the US
- Wealth more unequal than income
- Majority of wealth owned by about 10% of the population
Groups at risk of being poor
Women, people of color, children, homeless people
