Midterm Flashcards
In what 10 ways are social issues in a downward spiral?
- Housing
- Job insecurity
- Income inequality
- Homelessness
- Differences across provinces
- Federal policies being shifted into provincial hands
- Increased strain on service organizations
- Less funding
- Trying to get private sector involved
- Services contracted out to private sector
What is the problem with non-profit organizations?
Funding is based on quantitative outcomes rather than qualitative (would rather serve more poorly than serve fewer in a better way)
What is social welfare? (3)
A concept, field or system that is concerned with individual and collective wellbeing, helps people meet their basic social and economic needs, and prevents/reduces/alleviates social problems
How are social issues measured and what is the problem with it?
Government loves counting and statistics using indicators (employment, marriage, family) to determine people’s well-being but people and things are often missed when people are counted (i.e. homelessness, intersectionality)
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? What is an example concerning social welfare?
States that people will not try and chives high level needs (like self-actualization and self-esteem) if they do not first secure their basic needs (like physiological and safety)
Housing first is a good example, getting people housed before addressing mental health or addiction
Define human capital
Having knowledge, skills, characteristics that help people get jobs, cope with difficult situations and not rely on others
Define social capital
Social support networks and those you can rely on for emotional and physical supports
What are the two kinds of social welfare in Canada?
Income security programs and social services
What are income security programs? Provide 4 examples
Providing financial aid to replace or supplement a person’s income during times of unemployment to make sure they meet the social minimum standard of living
- Targeted cash transfers to individual such as welfare or disability
- Universal cash transfers to everyone regardless of need based on unique characteristics such as the universal childcare benefit
- Contributory programs where we contribute to it like old age pension or EI
- Tax relief measures where individuals with unique needs are given tax exemptions such as child or disability tax credits
What are social services? What is one problem associated with these?
Services are covered or partially covered by the government for people in need like child and elderly care, housing programs, etc.
Unequal access is a problem unless it is a universal program
How do politics impact judgment and bias? Provide 3 examples
Informs your values and beliefs
Conservatives want to cut social welfare in favor of economy and business, blames individuals
Liberals try to balance capitalism and social welfare with neoliberalism
Socialism class for heavy regulation and public business ownership through universal social welfare
What does it mean to be a Social Welfare State?
Canada will intervene and impose policies and sanctions to battle income inequality
What is a social investment approach? (3)
Preventative rather than responsive
Removing barriers to participation
Looking after citizens from youth into adulthood
What are the 6 stages of social welfare policy?
- Identify the issue
- Understand the issue
- Consult and review
- Formalize policy
- Implementation
- Evaluation
What is stage 1 of social welfare policy? (3)
Identify social issues (concerns that are not currently problematics) and social problems (wide-reaching undesirable conditions that negatively impact people and need to be changed)
Calls for education and advocation
What is stage 2 of social welfare policy?
Acquire social knowledge through government reports, academic or government research, think tanks, consultants, surveys, etc. to understand, define and measure the issue at hand
Define wicked problems
Issues in society that always change and are unlikely to ever be solved
What is stage 3 of social welfare policy?
Consult and review with stakeholders and the policy community to determine desired outcomes, benefits, cons, type of policy, etc.
Define stakeholders
Those who have some kind of vested interest in the policy and social issue, such as government officials, policy makers, advocacy groups, those with lived experience, organizations and frontline workers
What is stage 4 of social welfare policy? (3)
Formalize what policy to use (direct payments, services, etc.) and authorize it through legislation or mutual agreement
For provincial policies, it must pass through the legislative assembly
For federal policies, it must be introduced as a bill and be approved by senate and HoC
What is stage 5 of social welfare policy? (2)
Create, manage and implement the policy by running programs and services
Must be sustainable, inclusive, responsive and accessible
What is stage 6 of social welfare policy?
Evaluate the policy through an evaluation process to determine if the policies are being carried out, are successful and determine if it needs amendment or replacement
What are 3 ways to evaluate social policy?
Logic model: show you what your inputs are (resources, workers, services) and assumes that with each input there will be a desired outcome
Process model: more so about the process rather than just showing assumptions and what’s included in a policy (use focus groups and surveys)
Study/research through lenses: use a lens like inclusion lens (who is included/excluded and why/how) or life course lens (tracking data over time to see how people transition through life) to evaluate policy
How did New France provide social welfare? (3)
Settlers felt the government was responsible for them so education, health and other services were offered
Mainly through charities (shelters, family support, food, etc.)
People were expected to integrate and beggars were banished
What is the Protestant Work Ethic? (4)
A British view implemented by the church
Viewed hard work and accumulate wealth as Devine, and lazy/not working as sinful and punishment from god
You had to repent to get out of poverty
Was the basis for EI and workfare
What are the Poor Law Principles? (4)
Government intervention only after personal resources have been exhausted (last measure)
Placing people in deserving (elderly, sick) and undeserving categories (able bodied)
Strings often attached (not abandoning your children in exchange for help)
Support was always less than the lowest paid job to deter dependence
What is Outdoor Relief?
People receive direct compensation but not enough to live off of, just enough to keep you out of trouble
What is Indoor Relief? (2)
Workhouses (live-in sweatshops) and poorhouses (shelters)
Later sold and abandoned due to sanitary issues and poor conditions
What happened to social welfare during confederation? (2)
Provinces were to look after social welfare
Industrialization created instability
Define social citizenship
A base level of health, wellbeing and equitable access to services for all
How did labor impact social welfare?
Workplaces had zero health and safety precautions so unions started pushing for government compensation
How did WWI impact social welfare? (2)
Government had to support families and soldiers (widows and children left behind without a breadwinner, veterans coming back harmed)
Job assistance provided to help returning veterans and women left behind