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Poverty Is The State Of Not For Poor, Single Parent Households And The Disabled

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Poverty is the state of not having enough money or resources to maintain basic necessities (food, housing, and clothing) to survive. The government programs that are designed to alleviate poverty and help the poor are called “public welfare” or antipoverty programs. There is not just one public welfare program that exists, there are many. Each system is designed to benefit low-income groups and have their own targeted populace, characteristic, and/or need that it addresses. The most important programs are those that provide income support to poor, single-parent households and the disabled.4 On August 14, 1935, to alleviate poverty produced by the Great Depression, president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law, the Social Security Act …show more content…

Several people felt as though receivers were abusing the program by staying unmarried and unemployed to remain eligible for the program and some were having more children to become qualified for a greater amount of benefits.6 Others felt as though the AFDC program had made welfare a way of life rather than a short-term assistance mechanism to help individuals get back on their feet.7 The public at large grew frustrated with the system for the lack of evidence provided that the system actually achieved any of its goals towards reducing poverty. Needless to say the issue of welfare reform became a recurrent topic.
In 1997, the AFDC program was replaced by a more restrictive, state designed and operated, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.4 The main differences between AFDC and TANF are the time limits in which support can be received (both food stamps and cash aid), the requirement for those who receive aid to work, immigrant eligibility, and the requirement of cooperation from female recipients in identifying the father of their children. The AFDC program did not have any limits on how long income and food stamp support could be received nor did the program require applicants to participate in work activities to remain eligible. Developmentally disabled children as well as non-citizens qualified for a wide variety of programs, and female recipients were not required to name the father of their children.4 The TANF program limits

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