Social welfare
Social welfare
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Social welfare is activities and services that encourage the wellbeing of individuals and the society. Volunteers, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies offer these activities and services to needy people. Social welfare was first introduced to America by European settlers who borrowed it from the Elizabeth poor law which was passed by the British parliament. In America, social welfare evolved from charity works done by faith groups to a federal responsibility and later to state and local government responsibility. Social reform movements that seek to improve quality of life for all individuals over the years have motivated social welfare. It has had positive impact on the society by addressing poverty, housing, and education, healthcare among others and by promoting of self-sufficiency programs reliance on welfare aid discouraged. The aim of social welfare is to reduce and eliminate social problems in the society, therefore improving the quality of life of all people.
Settlers from Europe introduced social welfare in the US, and they drew this model from the British poor law. This law passed in England in 1601, and its core purpose was to protect and benefit its people. It identified the underemployed and unemployed in its society and provided help accordingly. Financial aid was provided to the underemployed, who consisted of children, elderly people and physically challenged while paid employment was provided to the unemployed. The settlers then formed various faith groups and took up the responsibility of providing resources and humanitarian aid to the needy. In the 1800s, millions of migrants made of poor Germans and Irish Catholics moved to America and made their own aid groups as they were not accepted to the existing parish aids,.
It evolved from charitable works done by religious groups to a responsibility of the national government after the revolutionary war. There was an increase in poverty levels due to rapid immigration, urbanization, industrialization, and low wages. New laws were created with the target that able-bodied individuals in the age bracket 18-50 would not be given support. Instead, they were to work to earn their livelihoods and the young, old and disabled put in public and religious institutions. There was also increased effort in improving public health and housing to deal with slum housing and diseases in slum settlements. The great depression of the 1930s also prompted the congress to come up with new policies and programs such as the federal work relief program to deal with unemployment. During this period, many financial institutions went under and many people lost their jobs and savings causing families to fall into the poverty bracket.
In 1935, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt the social security act came into being. It addressed issues to do with medical care, education, urban problems, and poverty. It offered insurance to retired workers, the unemployed, victims of industrial accidents and provided aid to disabled people and dependent mothers and children. This was especially important to the later due to increased numbers of dissertation by husbands and fathers. More women were abandoned by their spouses and were left with no means of providing for their children. At the time, women were discouraged from working and leaving their children alone as there was belief this would lead to child delinquency. The federal governments through the national welfare system therefore provided financial assistance to them.
In 1996, under President Bill Clinton social welfare was transferred from being federal responsibility to local government responsibility. This led to the formation of personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act, in which the federal government gave lump sum money to the local government to assist the poor. States formed their own policies on welfare and designed their own work programs with emphasis on discouraging reliance on aid. Welfare officers across different states ensured people receiving aid participated in mandatory employment related activities. Single mothers were encouraged to take up low income jobs to supplement the welfare aid they were receiving. Low-income families were also encouraged to work and in return they got social relief programs such as child tax credit, exemptions in tax code, Medicaid among others. Such work programs discouraged reliance on aid and in turn increased the financial wellbeing and quality of life of individuals relying on welfare.
Social welfare has been able to cater to healthcare, education, and retirement benefits. Many people have benefitted from it especially with the emphasis placed on childcare. It has been largely successful due to the large private sector and non-governmental aspects to it. This has reduced the strain it placed on the national government when it was sorely its responsibility. Despite its positive outcomes there is need to increase work, promote sense of self-achievement and reliance as well as advocate for healthy marriages. Poverty levels will reduce when heavy reliance on aid is discouraged and happy marriages will positively influence child outcomes and reduce number of single dependent mothers. Introducing reforms that will reduce costs on fundamental aspects of life such as healthcare and education will also greatly improve life.
Social welfare has greatly evolved from the days of early settlers and with this evolution so has its growth. Over the years, it has supported many needy people and greatly improved their quality of life. Social welfare has promoted wellbeing of individuals and the society and has encouraged able-bodied people to work instead of waiting on aid. This has built a responsible society that is not only able to take care of itself but also ready to help those in need. Social welfare has made it able to reduce social problems and promoted the well-being of the society.
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