Social Welfare Policy

& Underlying Values

Segal, Chapter 1
January 22, 2015

What is Social Welfare?

What do you think of when you hear the

word welfare?

Social welfare the well-being of society

Welfare Exercise

Who is on welfare? (Dont announce it)

Do you know the different types of welfare?

49% of all Americans live in households that

receive some government aid (i.e., welfare)

Social Welfare Policy

The collective response to social problems

Policy is a position it can be an action (but

it doesnt have to be!

Acting is a policy
Not Acting is a policy

What are Policies?

What are some relevant policies being

enforced and developed right now?

Just because a policy does not give out

money, does it address Social Welfare?

Types of Policies

Policies can be formal or informal

Typically, we think of policy as formal laws, regulations, ordinances,

statutes, etc.
Social Security Act
Violence Against Women Act
Dont Ask, Dont Tell

Policies exist in so many other realms, as well:

Agency/Organizational Policy
Community Development Initiatives
Media developments, Documentaries, Films, etc.
Advocacy and Lobbying
Certain Nonprofit Organizations can also be seen as Policy (we will cover this
later)

**A better way to conceptualize this is to look at the agenda that is held by the
policy, initiative, effort, media sampling, etc. (usually, there are strong policy
implications!)

About Policies

Although policies can be informal or formal,

it is crucial to note that in most cases, some
sort of legislation is involved in the creation
or passage of policies, as well as decisions
not to create or pass policies.

Why do we study Social

Welfare?

Social workers have an ethical obligation to

be concerned with the well-being of
societys members

Social Welfare is the well-being of society

Key Actors in Social

Welfare

The key actors in Social Welfare are the

provider and the recipient

The Provider is the one that makes public

social welfare services available (such as
the government)

The Recipient is one who receives the

public social welfare services.

The Social Welfare System

1.
2.
3.
4.

Social Issues
Policy Goals
Legislation & Regulation
Social Welfare Programs

You will need to know the difference in

these categories for an exam!!!

Provision of Social Welfare

Services

Social welfare exists for two reasons:

1) Safety Net
2) Services that individuals cannot provide for
themselves (i.e., public services)

Residual vs. Insitutional

Residual Social Welfare Policy calls for

organized public intervention only when the
normal resources of family and marketplace
break down

Institutional Social Welfare Policy calls

for the existence of social welfare programs
as part of the social structure and as part of
the normal function of society

Universal vs. Selective

Universality calls for social services that

provide benefits to all members of society,
regardless of their income or means

Selectivity means that services are

restricted to those who can demonstrate
need through established eligibility criteria

Values & Beliefs

A Value is the worth, desirability, or

usefulness placed on something

A Belief is an opinion or conviction

Values and Beliefs are at the core of Social

Welfare Policies

Types of Values in Social

Welfare
Religious Values
Personal Values
Social Values

Social Justice describes the level of

fairness that exists in society

Conflicting Values/Beliefs

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Undeserving vs. Deserving

Person A is worthy of Help because they are

helpless

Person B is not worth of Help because they

should be able to care for themselves

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Personal Failure vs. System Failure

PF: Person A is poor because he/she made

bad choices

SF: Person B is poor because there were not

enough services available to help them

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Individual Responsibility vs. Social
Responsibility

IR: It is Person As responsibility to care for

their own needs when they are experience
hardship

SR: It is societys responsibility to care for

its members when they are experiencing
hardship

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Individual Change vs. Social Change

IC: Person A will not have a better life until

they change their nontraditional lifestyle

SC: People of the X Community will not have

a better life until society adapts to the
changing times and ideas.

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Self-Sufficiency vs. Social Support

Can someone really be entirely SelfSufficient?

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Entitlement vs. Handout

E: Person A is getting assistance because

they earned it for all they did for society

H: Person B is getting free money that

they did not work for and do not deserve

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Religious and Faith-based Practice vs.
Separation of Church and State

There is a huge argument around how much

Church involvement is too much

Also, there is an argument around how

much the Church can get involved without
the government getting involved in Church
affairs

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Crisis Response vs. Prevention

Are social workers more likely to respond to

bad things as they happen, or are they
more likely to try to prevent them?

How is this reflected in programming?

Conflicting Values/Beliefs
Sympathy vs. Empathy

Sympathy involves compassion or sorrow

for another persons misfortune

Empathy involves identifying oneself with

another
put yourself in someone elses shoes

Intended &
Unintended
Consequences

Intended Consequences

The policy did what it was set to do or

alleviate

The focus is on the goal not necessarily

how you got there

An intended consequence does not have to

be a positive one

Unintended Consequences
Something that occurs (as a result of the
policy) that was not intended to happen or
was not accounted for
Can be positive or negative
Policies can actually make the targeted
problem worse
Can affect the targeted issue/problem,
something related, or something completely
unrelated

Federal Reserve Act of

1913

Intention to organize, standardize, and

stabilize the U.S. money system

Reality devalued the American dollar by

nearly 96%

Facebook Example

Although not a policy, Facebook was introduced so

that people could connect with friends, loved ones, and
other acquaintances

Intended Consequences users can connect with just

about anyone in the world, sharing pictures, messages,
and other details

Unintended Consequences threats to privacy; threats

to relationships; blurred difference in public and
private life what you do in private can easily affect
you publicly (i.e, jobs, school, relationships, etc.)

Example of Chinas One Child

Policy

The One Child Policy

Chinese citizens should have only one child
Fines/penalties for more than one child
Preference given to male children

Intended Consequences
Slowed the rapid population growth

Unintended Consequences
Males are starting to significantly outnumber females (118 to
100)
Fertility is decreasing
Growth of Chinese Gangs & Female Trafficking

An Introduction to
Institutions & Justice

What is an Institution?

Policies are often connected to Institutions, and

the access that persons have to such institutions

Institutions are often titles, statuses, etc. that

are afforded to members of society. Persons
express their freedom by electing to participate
in these institutions

Drug Treatment is an Institution

Marriage is an institution

Differing Views of Justice

Deontological (Duty-Focused) the policy is

just when it affords the same rights and
freedoms to all members of society

Teleological (Utilitarian) the policy is just

when it does the greatest good for the
greatest amount of people

Differing Views of Justice

This is helpful when talking about the

unintended consequences of a policy

In this class, we will mostly focus on a

Deontological (Duty-focused) view of justice in
policy

Taking a duty-focused approach one step

further, persons can benefit to different
degrees, but it is imperative that all members
(especially the least advantaged) benefit

Justice & Social Policy

Key to the idea of Social Policies (in this

class) is the level to which policies are just

How do we measure if a policy is Just?

Policies that are just are ones the optimize

the freedom of one citizen without depriving
or attacking the freedom of another citizen.

Justice and Policy Making

In each of the following scenarios, what would a

Deontological approach say about the level of Justice
in policy making?

A neighborhood association that forces a household to

remove an Islamic flag from their porch because it
offends their next door neighbor
Does this afford someone a level of freedom?
Does this deprive someone elses level of freedom?

Allowing gay and lesbian persons to marry.

Does this afford someone a level of freedom?
Does this deprive someone elses level of freedom?