Poverty on the Rise

Poverty, the state of being extremely poor, exists all over America! There are several different types of poverty, and the causes of poverty. Most people think of poverty as just somebody who is homeless and has no job, somebody who has no money to support the basic needs of life, and wears ragged clothing and lives under a bridge. What people don’t know is there are people living in poverty that have jobs and make money but live so poorly that they are categorized with people that live in absolute poverty.

Another program was Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program it was established to provide a minimum income for the disabled, blind and older Americans. This program works to help recipients with vocational skills therefore they can seek work opportunities. This is one of the least criticized programs by the public because the recipients are physically “worthy” of their benefits (J. Marx, 2004).

Most of these families and individuals now are in programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, also known as welfare(National Coalition,2009), Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. These programs provide cash, health care benefits and food for these families and most individuals helping the individuals or families to get back on their feet although some will get denied for such help.

Medicaid, WIC Programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as “food stamps”, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and HUD which deals with housing are only a few of the programs that are available for the poor and underemployed today. These government programs cost the taxpayers billions of dollars. State and federal government try every year to reduce programs. In Mississippi, Medicaid has been reduced although children and the disabled are still covered. SNAP commonly known as food stamps have also been reduce and restricted to balance both the state and federal government. At the height of the recession, the last few years, has increased the number of single bread winner families seeking help by applying for government welfare programs. We often hear of people selling their food stamps for things that are not approved. These stories are used by the people who do not think that tax money should be used to support people who do not work. Changing the name of “welfare” to TANF has not slowed the

Food Stamps are provided for many families in the hope that these families will not starve and can put filling, nutritious food on the table. According to the Food Stamp Act of 1977, this program was enacted to ““to alleviate hunger and malnutrition … by increasing food purchasing power for all eligible households who apply for participation.” (usda.gov, 2013) Recipients can use these just like regular cash at any local grocery store. They also may receive Medicaid. This program provides for many the medical treatment they would not be able to afford otherwise. This is especially true for children and pregnant women below the poverty line.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, welfare is defined as “a government program for poor or unemployed people that helps pay for their food, housing, medical costs, etc.” (Dictionary) Some of these programs include; Food Stamps, Medicaid, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Head Start, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Work Study.

Data was extracted from each application and each of the supporting services was listed and counted based on the number of recipients that reported funding the services. There are a total of sixteen supporting services that a recipient can fund. Among the supporting services, the top 8 services are funded by more than 20 recipients. The report reveals that 45 recipients reported funding medical transportation services, 41 recipients reported funding food bank/home-delivered meals, 40 recipients reported funding non-medical case management, 33 recipients reported funding psychosocial support services, 30 recipients reported funding emergency financial assistance, 29 recipients reported funding housing services, 28 recipients reported funding legal services, and 24 recipients reported funding outreach services. The following eight supporting services are not included in the chart because less than twenty recipients fund each service. Based on the provided data, 16 recipients reported funding residential substance abuse services, 14 recipients reported funding treatment adherence counseling, 13 recipients reported funding linguistic services, 11 recipients reported funding child care services, 8 recipients reported funding referrals for health care/supportive services, 7 recipients reported funding health education/risk reduction, 2 recipients reported funding rehabilitation services, and 2

For example, according to Head Start policies there are only two programs that qualify for public assistance which are “Temporary Assistance to Needy Families” and “Supplemental Security Income” (“Head Start”). Any other services do not meet the requirements of public assistance of a low income family. This will absolutely affect eligibility because “In order to be eligible for Head Start, children must be from families with incomes below the poverty line or families receiving public assistance. Public assistance is defined as either SSI or TANF” (“Head Start”). Eligibility is a process. According to Head Start’s regulations there are “two primary kinds of eligibility…categorical eligibility and income eligibility” (“Head Start”). Categorically speaking, human beings from 0 years old to 5 years old as well as pregnant women are eligible. Income eligibility requires the family income to be classified as “below the income figures published annually by the federal government as the Poverty Guidelines” (Head Start). Grantees go through a verification process to legitimize the claims or reports they have been handed concerning

Food stamps – This program is for those that don't make enough and therefore need assistance to get food. In order to be eligible you must meet a few requirements:

The U.S. Social Security program is designed to aid residents in need through welfare subsidies. The programs are provided by organizations on federal, state, local, and private levels; and help to provide eligible residents with food, shelter, healthcare, education and money. Aid is provided through financial aid for college education, unemployment disability insurance, food stamps, pensions for eligible low-wage workers, subsidies for housing, and health insurance programs for public employees (Feldstein, 2005; Krugman, 2007).

Today, poverty is a substantial economic issue in America. The rising poverty levels are raising the concerns of many people across the country. In order to address this issue, we need to get the government involved in the economy so they can provide relief to the citizens who are living in poverty. I propose that we increase the national minimum wage, provide a more generous Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to families with young children, and provide a significant benefit to individuals without children. These policies provide a good way to boost earnings for people struggling to bring in money and it would most definitely decrease poverty rates across the country. An increase in the national minimum wage is important because it will help

in the first year of initiation. The policy (Public Assistance Amendments) to get insured was liberalized by letting a worker get insured just with one quarter of coverage for every year after 1950. Under this amendment, the worker can get the benefits of disability, death or at the age of 65 years. There were increases in benefits for aged widows, widowers, and surviving parents from 75% to 82.5% of worker’s retirement benefit. In the first year, it affected 1,525,000 people by $105 million. The amendments established a period of disability where a person may file for eligibility

This paper was prepared for Social Welfare Institutions and Program, SWK, 639, Section 81, taught by Professor Yvonne Johnson

Poverty is “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor” (Dictionary.com, 2017). Based off this definition poverty is a condition that can cause a cascade of cause and effect actions that is detrimental to families and individuals both physically and mentally. Haan, Kaplan, & Camacho (2017) completed a study on the correlation between social and economic status and health in adults in Oakland, CA. They found that the lower the socioeconomic class the higher incidents of diseases and deaths related to chronic diseases (p.1161-1162). Just being without money or little money was not the only indication of health indication, a person living in an area with higher poverty issues

Social workers need to keep update on resources and programs and need to be able to help their clients navigate the complex process of accessing resources. Federal and state welfare programs include cash assistance, health and medical provisions, food assistance, housing subsidies, utility subsidies, child care assistance, unemployment compensation etc. Below are some of the important programs that are designed to help or intervene on behalf of clients in distress.