Discussion 1: Social Security and Social Welfare Programs

Respond by Day 5 to at least two colleagues by explaining a strategy for how a social worker might help clients manage these perceptions, given the differences your colleagues described.

Below are my colleagues post………

Please refer to the NASW website!

First Post
Social Security is a federal program that provides financial benefits to individuals who have worked and paid into the program through taxes and to individuals with disabilities who are unable to sustain living wages due to their disability, these benefits are received until the individual dies and in some cases continue to be paid to designated surviving family members (U.S. Social Security Administration, n.d.) Social Security provides medical benefits for aging adults and those who suffer from illnesses that qualify to maintain “optimal level of functioning” because the condition is long-term or permanent as opposed to Welfare benefits are awarded to individuals whose conditions are not permanent (NASW, 2009).  Welfare programs such as TANF are designed to aid families who are having difficulty surviving receive financial assistance and medical assistance, however, these benefits are limited to 5 years total for those who qualify (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Our text notates that the government has devised a plan to enable individuals who have aged in our country and paid taxes to receive government assistance in their aging years without stigma, however this is not the case as it pertains to individuals who receive welfare, they are often viewed as lazy individuals taking advantage of a failing government program that is bankrupting our society (Popple, P. R., and Leighninger, L., 2019). The role of the social worker is to fight stigma and promote fair and equitable rights for everyone (NASW, 2017).
References
NASW. (2009). Social Work Speaks. Long-term Care, 223-228.
NASW. (2017). Read code of ethics. Retrieved from www.socialworkers.org: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
popple, P. R., and Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of family assistance. Retrieved from www.acf.hhs.gov: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/tanf
U.S. Social Security Administration. (n.d.).

2 Post

Welfare and Social Security are different financial programs designed to provide financial income to their recipients. All U.S. workers who have paid Social Security taxes over a lifetime may receive Social Security retirement or survivors’ benefits. This has nothing to do with welfare, as you are simply being paid out by a fund that you paid into during your working years.
Social Security is often confused with welfare because the Social Security Administration also oversees a program for in-need or disabled Americans. Social Security’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides assistance to U.S. workers and their families in need (Dylan, 2016).
Temporary or transitional assistance for needy persons and families aims to offer financial assistance to those in need. Each state determines its own guidelines but, because federal grants are used, the U.S. government determines most of the particulars for eligibility.
Welfare’s goals include helping families to care for children and helping needy adults transition from welfare to employment (Dylan, 2016).
In the United States, people generally rank self-reliance over interdependence, thus finding equity a more “legitimate” basis for providing aid (Popple & Leighninger, 2019).
So, in a way, public assistance programs are perceived to be something given to people in a time of need whereas, Social Security is an earned program since you’ve had to pay into for your entire working life.
Cedric
References:
https://www.get.com/guide/social-security-and-welfare/
Popple, P.R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.