Chapter 1: Reading Flashcards
When was the “a blueprint for post war reconstruction: the Report for Social Security” released? Who wrote it? What was its main recommendation?
Released in 1943 by Dr. Leonard Marsh
Main idea: recommended a ‘social minimum’ to protect the disadvantaged through policies such as universal family allowances, a national health system and a large-scale national employment program
What type of approach do social workers apply? Why? What does this involve?
a macrosystems approach because it recognizes that many personal problems are rooted in broader social and economic inequities
This involves formulating and implementing public policies that promote inclusion, equity, and social justice for all.
What is an example of a change from a private to public issue? what did this result in?
intimate partner violence is understood to be a public issue, not simply a private trouble.
social policies have been developed in areas such as criminal justice, child protection, and the funding of transition houses.
What is the central idea underpinning social welfare? Where/ when was this idea captured? Who captured it?
Citizenship rights captured in sociologist T. H. Marshall’s 1950 essay, Citizenship and Social Class,
What is the history of citizenship rights that Marshall outlines?
the struggles over rights resulted in the acquisition of “civil rights” in the eighteenth century, “political rights” in the nineteenth century, and “social rights” in the twentieth century.
This evolution culminated in the concept of “citizenship rights.”
According to Marshall, when are citizen rights best fulfilled?
if the state plays an active and comprehensive role in ensuring and promoting the overall well-being of its citizens.
When and where was the term welfare state first used? how did it come to be used?
in 1941 in a book by William Temple, the Archbishop of York, in England.
describe societies where:
- the power of the state is used to modify the play of market forces in order to help allay personal contingencies, such as sickness, poverty, and unemployment
Is Canada considered a welfare state? Does everybody agree with this?
Yes. there have been many cutbacks by liberal and conservative governments which has caused people to question this designation.
What was the nature of Canadian welfare systems up to WWII? What form was it in? How was it distributed? How was it seen?
- essentially residual
- It was in the form of modest income suppports offered begrudgingly only to those most in need
- seen as a limited and temporary response to human need, implemented by governments only when all else failed.
In what period did the industrialized world see a tremendous expansion of social welfare?
the post WWII period.
How did the view of social welfare shift in the post WWII period?
shift from viewing social welfare as a form of stigmatizing charity to recognizing it as an important mechanism for ensuring social and personal well-being — not a privilege but a right of citizenship
What programs came to be regarded as the bulwarks of an institutional approach to social welfare in a democratic and caring society?
Family Allowance, Employment Insurance, workers’ compensation, and universal health care
What was happening to the social welfare system in Canada by the end of the 20th century? Why? What norms replaced it?
It was unravelling.
under Liberal and Conservative govts many programs were curtailed and many pre–World War II ideas of limited, temporary (residual) support came back into fashion.
Bare minimums, means tests, and service cutbacks became the norm.
Who is one of Canada’s leading social policy thinkers? What did he creat? What did he believe about social policy in the 21st century?
Ken Battle.
co-founded the Caledon Institute of Social Policy in 1992 with Alan Broadbent and served as its president until 2017.
We need a new ”architecture” of social policy for the 21st century.
What does social welfare in Canada consist of today? What sets the framework?
- a vast network of income security and social service programs at the federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal levels.
- Laws, social policies, rules and regulations, strategies, and other directives set the framework.
What are income security programs? Three Examples?
provide monetary or other material benefits to supplement income or maintain minimum income levels
e.g., Employment Insurance, social assistance, Old Age Security
What are social service programs? 8 examples?
help people by providing non-monetary aid
e.g., parent–child programs, child care centres, youth drop-in centres, women’s shelters, mental health and substance use programs, child protection and family support services, and criminal justice services
Who has jurisdiction over income security programs under the Canadian Constitution? What about social service provisions?
income security programs are a federal responsibility, whereas social service provision falls under the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories and/or the municipalities.
What is the social welfare system in Canada often referred to as?
“Canada’s social safety net”
Broadly speaking, what does social welfare refer to?
a system of social policies and programs designed to ensure the well-being of people in Canada.
Traditionally, what has the perspective of social welfare been? What 3 main indicators have been used? How has this been changing?
Traditionally: somewhat narrow economic perspective, using indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP), gross revenue, and unemployment rates
Recently: non-economic indicators of well-being have been emphasized in research
What are the 8 dimensions in the Canadian index of wellbeing?
- living standards
- healthy populations
- democratic engagement
- Community vitality
- environment
- leisure and culture
- time use
-education
What underpinned the expansion of Post–World War II welfare programs and services? What was the view at the time?
What was the traditional concern? What can this model be characterized as and what is it usually associated with?
a focus on economic security
“the state had a paramount role in ensuring, for its citizens, as a matter of right, a certain minimum standard of living, economic welfare and security”
Traditional concern: protecting breadwinners (males, generally) from unforeseen events, such as unemployment and sickness.
characterized as a passive protection system, and usually it was associated with cash benefits to the needy and the poor.
What are the special risk groups identified by social workers and policy makers today?
young, the low skilled, and women
Why has family instability and difficult reconciliation of work and family life become major policy issues?
major policy issues as they increase the incidence of poverty for families with children, especially for lone-parents
Why is the 21 century approach to welfare more proactive? What type of model is it?
because it has a focus on eliminating poverty, promoting social inclusion, eliminating oppression, ending all forms of violence, increasing investments in health and education, and protecting and restoring environmental resources.
it’s a social investment model
What is the renewed focus on overall well-being consistent with? Where is this idea expressed? What does it state?
consistent with broader notions of citizenship engagement, equality of opportunity, and fairness
in the first principle of the Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) standards
It states: “social work seeks to facilitate well-being and participation of people, promote social and economic justice, address structural sources of inequities, and eliminate conditions that infringe human and civil rights”
what is the aim of the social investment model of social welfare? What is the quote that reflects this?
to integrate the economic and social objectives underlying social welfare.
Quote: “Rather than reduce income inequality, new social-risk policies aspire to an active society with economic participation and social inclusion through the redistribution of opportunities and investment in human capital”
What did the expansion of the social welfare system in the post–World War II period help even out? What did it provide?
helped even out inequalities and provided much-needed services to vulnerable members of society.
What happened in the 1980s that caused many populations to continue to experience significant inequities?
neoliberal cutbacks
In what year did Canada set the official poverty line? What measure did they use?
2018 using the Market Basket Measure (MBM)
What is the MBM?
A regional amount that is based on the cost of a basket of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and other items for individuals and families that represent a modest, basic standard of living.
What does the govt do to help offset chronic poverty?
What program was launched in 2019?
How are all of these programs administered?
administers income supplement programs such as the Canada Child Benefit, the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit.
Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) program was launched in 2019
All of these programs are administered through income tax returns.
What is the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP)? Where does it operate? What is its paralell in Quebec?
earnings-related social insurance program that provides contributors and their families with partial replacement of earnings in the case of retirement, disability, or death.
The CPP operates throughout Canada, except in Québec, where the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) provides similar benefits.
What is the old age security program (OAS)? What is the payment system?
Who is it available to?
a secondary stream of Canada’s public retirement income security system and is Canada’s largest pension program. Unlike the CPP/QPP, individuals do not pay into it directly.
monthly payment available to older adults aged 65 and above, although there is a clawback for higher-income Canadians.
What are 3 alternative names for social assistance?
How is it administered?
“income support”
“income assistance”
“welfare”
provincially/territorially and has widely varying eligibility criteria and benefits across jurisdictions.
What was the first income security program to be introduced in Canada? how was it funded? How is this different for federal/govt employee’s?
Workers’ compensation (1918)
is also a provincial/territorial responsibility and is funded by employers based on their payroll, industry sector, and history of injuries.
Federal government employees are covered separately, through the Government Employees Compensation Act.
What is the purpose of family policy?
to keep up with these changes, anticipate them, and, to an extent, influence them.
What are 3 serious shortfalls Canada has in welfare?
the number of spaces and the affordability of child care
adequate parental leave.
little effort has been made to address the economic insecurity of many families: even with two parents working, it is hard for many families to make ends meet.
What is the reason for Canada Caregiver Credit and gender-based budgeting legislation?
Family well-being is inextricably tied to women’s well-being and there are persistent gender income gaps and disproportionate responsibilities of women to provide caregiving
