Chapter 9: Organized Responses to Poverty

Question 1

What causes poverty on the micro scale?

Answer 1

Deficiencies in individuals, families, or other microsystems. The lack of skills, opportunities, support, or other factors.

Question 2

What causes poverty on the macro scale?

Answer 2

Flaws in social, political, economic, or other macrosystems.

Question 3

What is structural poverty theory?

Answer 3

The failure of society to meet the social and economic needs of individuals and families. Entities in our culture systemically exclude powerless or under-valued groups.

Question 4

What is structural poverty associated with today?

Answer 4

Globalization, income inequality, and neoliberal policies.

Question 5

What is a two-pronged approach to poverty issues?

Answer 5

Aim to support individuals through a wide range of programs and use various systemic interventions to change policies, practices, social attitudes, or other macro systems.

Question 6

What does the two-ponged approach to poverty do?

Answer 6

Meet the diverse needs to low-income Canadians.

Question 7

What is social assistance?

Answer 7

The income program is a last resort. It provides some level of financial assistance to help with food, shelter, and other basic needs.

Question 8

What are some additional benefits with social assistance?

Answer 8

In relation to age, disability, education, employment, and the National Child Benefit (NCB).

Question 9

What is the welfare wall?

Answer 9

When families become financially worse off employed than they were on welfare.

Question 10

Why do people hit the welfare wall?

Answer 10

Employment brings work-related expenses and they lose access to benefits.

Question 11

How have provincial governments reformed their social assistance programs?

Answer 11

Allows families to keep the NCB, keep some earnings and some social assistance, and keep benefits.

Question 12

What is employment insurance?

Answer 12

An income security program that offers temporary financial support to people who have lost their job or are looking for other work and upgrading their skills. A contributory program.

Question 13

What types of benefits does employment insurance provide?

Answer 13

Regular benefits and benefits related to maternity, parental duties, sickness, compassionate care, and training.

Question 14

Why does the Canadian government use employment insurance?

Answer 14

It reinforces the values of work, discipline, and productivity. It also provides confidence in the skills needed to compete and succeed in the workforce.

Question 15

What does Canada’s employment rate look like?

Answer 15

It hovers around 7 percent.

Question 16

What does it mean that a segment of the workforce is underemployed?

Answer 16

People are not working as much as they could or want to and are overqualified for their current job.

Question 17

What is the working poor?

Answer 17

Workers who do not make enough to stay out of poverty. Usually young adults, recent immigrants, people with disabilities, and first nations people.

Question 18

What are the likely targets for reform in opening up the labour market?

Answer 18

employment standards, employment equity, pay equity, work supports, training, and job creation.

Question 19

What are asset-based social policies?

Answer 19

Policies that help people build assets and save money. They promote self-sufficiency and encourage habits of saving.

Question 20

What are individual development accounts (IDA’s)?

Answer 20

They help low-income individuals and families build assets and save money. They save what they can from their earnings, and the government matches that amount.

Question 21

What are some IDA’s that help Canadians pay for post-secondary education?

Answer 21

The Canada Learning Bond and learn$ave.

Question 22

What are the four types of government-assisted housing programs in Canada?

Answer 22

public or social housing, nonprofit housing, co-op housing, and rent-supplement units.

Question 23

What does the homelessness partnering strategy do?

Answer 23

Supports the majority of homeless shelters. There are often a lack of beds at these shelters.

Question 24

What has created the affordable housing and homelessness crisis in Canada?

Answer 24

Funding cuts, lifting rent regulations, and the general deterioration of social housing policies.

Question 25

What structural flaws need to be corrected to solve this crisis?

Answer 25

Low vacancy rates, rising rents, a shrinking supply of low-cost rental units, decreasing number of new social housing, falling incomes, landlord discrimination, insufficient social assistance, and chronic unemployment.

Question 26

What are some traditional food security initiatives?

Answer 26

Free or subsidized food, educational programs to improve food preparation and shopping skills, and the promotion of alternative methods of obtaining food.

Question 27

Why are food banks and related programs inadequate?

Answer 27

They are not reliable sources of nutritious food, fall short to demand, and rely heavily on the public and volunteers.

Question 28

What was the Action Plan for Food Security?

Answer 28

A guide for governments, communities, and individuals to use to improve food security.

Question 29

What are food security charters?

Answer 29

A community’s vision for a sustainable food system and strategies to ensure food producers and processors make a sustainable living. They also recommend actions to ensure a supply of nutritious, sufficient, and ethically produced food.

Question 30

What is a poverty reduction plan?

Answer 30

A process that addresses the symptoms and root causes of poverty. Poverty is a government responsibility. These plans are long term, receive human and financial resources, and coordinate efforts.

Question 31

What does it mean when poverty-reduction plans call for a multisectoral response to poverty?

Answer 31

It means that not just one sector or group is responsible for resolving poverty on its own. People working together is important.

Question 32

What is a comprehensive community initiative?

Answer 32

Plans that adapt a variety of poverty-reduction strategies to the specific needs of the community. They focus on identifying and building on local economic and social assets.

Question 33

What is an anti-oppressive approach?

Answer 33

It is an approach social workers use with clients living in poverty. They all value egalitarianism, social inclusion, and empowerment.

Question 34

What do anti-oppressive frameworks assume?

Answer 34

That an unequal distribution of power and resources in a capitalist society leads to social exclusion and poverty among certain social groups.

Question 35

What is one of the challenges in working with disadvantaged groups?

Answer 35

Appreciating the complexities of living in hardship.

Question 36

How can social workers help disadvanatged groups