Plan to Influence Policy
In order to conduct meaningful change and to be effective in influencing policy, there must be a well thought out plan in place. In the text The Policy-Based Profession: An Introduction to Social Welfare Policy Analysis for Social Workers by Popple and Leighninger (2015) they argue that “For an action strategy to be effective, it is imperative that the people taking the action have a firm grasp on the problem they are dealing with and on achievable goals. You must do your homework before taking action” (p. 262). It is crucial that we do our homework when it comes to influencing policy for medicaid expansion in Texas. This includes having a better idea on who our coalition partners are, these are individuals and groups who share a common goal and purpose. This also includes knowing some strategies to increase public awareness, and as well what potential barriers may lie ahead that could possibly influence our success. Coalition Partners The state of Texas currently has a coalition set up solely to help with medicaid expansion in Texas, the coalition is called Cover Texas Now. Their mission statement states that they are “a coalition of consumer and faith-based organizations whose mission is to see the state of Texas implement a sustainable health care system and provide quality affordable health coverage to its citizens” (Cover Texas Now, 2016, para. 1). The coalition meets regularly to brainstorm new effective strategies in improving
This assignment involves a case study where Ralph, a fourteen year old boy, is currently in foster care because his mother; Kerry, felt she was unable to control him due to his behaviour. However, Kerry has now expressed that she is unhappy with this foster placement and has requested that her son be returned to live with her and his two younger brothers. The scenario becomes more complex owing to the fact that Ralph has disclosed that his mother had regularly hit him with a walking stick. In this essay I will seek to consider the main practice issues raised by the scenario of the case study. Using the materials provided within the course along with my own professional experience, I will outline relevant legislation
In support of Medicaid expansion in Texas, over 50 chambers of commerce across Texas have expressed strong interest in the expansion (8). Similarly, Texas Medical Association and Texas Hospital Association have also expressed their support (9). Laura Guerra-Cardus, Associate Director of the Children's Defense Fund, states "diverse groups from all across Texas support accepting federal funds to insure more Texans through Medicaid" (8). Finally, Texas Democratic officials also iterate their support by acknowledging that Texas stands alone with the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation (10).
The decision to reject Medicaid expansion by the former and current governors of Texas has left at least one million low-income earning nonelderly adults Texans uninsured resulting in the loss of several millions of dollars in uncompensated health care services extended to this vulnerable demographic, coupled with high insurance premiums (Mangan, 2015) which begs for the expedient conception and implementation of a statewide solution to address this unsustainable economic burden and create a more healthy, and productive society in the great state of
Medicaid is defined as being a jointly funded state-federal health care program administered in Texas by the Health and Human Services Commission. Medicaid was established in 1967 and also stemmed from Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act P.L. 111-148 (Strategic Decision Support Team, 2010). Some of the goals and objectives within Medicaid are to make it less of a struggle for clients to get care, protects against out-of-pocket through the roof cost, and also to achieve cost savings for the state and federal government through the many improvements in coordination, as well as care (Eighty-First Texas Legislature, 1967).
The current (US) welfare reform consists of more than cash payment that the poor US citizen could bank on. There is a monthly payment that each poor person received in spite of their ability to work. The main people who received this payment were both mothers and children. Moreover, the payment does not have time limit and those people could not remain on the welfare for the rest of their live.
What Texas has done when it pertains to the policy of Medicaid coverage has been disappointing with progress and it being forced to stay the same as is it always been instead of expanding to help out more people. Since 2014, the state of Texas health care system has seen a drastic step back in health care programs such as not expanding Medicaid, hospital closings, and a the Texas senate of Republicans representatives refusal to accept any changes to the current Texas Health Care. The way to get health care programs like Medicaid in Texas is you have to enrolled in a program called the State of Texas Action Reform Plus (STAR+PLUS)) this is health care for families that have low incomes who can’t afford the high cost of a more expensive health
The Medicaid expansion is clearly a great need that the state of Texas should take advantage of as it has numerous positive impacts that could result in even greater successes for the state. Although the decision will have profound implications, the state is given the option to develop alternative approaches to meet state needs and desires that would improve overall health status and increase revenue to advance a larger mission for its
The purpose of my research is to discern how welfare spending, healthcare spending, defence spending, and pension spending impacted vote choice in the 2013 Australian election in comparison to the 2012 United States election, 2013 German election, and 2012 France election. I expect that as support for welfare spending, pension spending, and healthcare spending, decreases, support for right wing parties will increase. I expect that there will be a positive effect on voting for right wing parties as support for defence spending increases. I expect that of these issues, welfare spending will have the largest magnitude and that pension spending will have the lowest magnitude. I do not believe there will be an additional effect in Australia and that the impact will be similar to that of other industrial democracies.
Why is Medicaid a huge topic in Texas and how does it relate to me? This is one important question to consider. Well, this paper will help shed light on the matter and illustrate the urgency for such an action. Just recently Texas had an option to extend Medicaid, but hastily decline to expand it. Medicaid expansion was part of the Health Care Reform or also known as the Obama Care; the federal government gave the 52 states an offer to expand the current Medicaid in ways that would include the coverage of more children and lower income adults as well. The latest on the issue is Texas had just agreed on a deal to reinstate Medicaid temporarily. The agreement on the reform has given Texas some time to see how the plan fairs across the other
"The U.S. Congress kicked off welfare reform nationwide last October with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, heralding a new era in which welfare recipients are required to look for work as a condition of benefits." http://www.detnews.com/1997/newsx/welfare/rules/rules.htm. Originally, the welfare system was created to help poor men, women, and children who are in need of financial and medical assistance. Over the years, welfare has become a way of life for its recipients and has created a culture of dependency. Currently, the government is in the process of reforming the welfare system. The welfare reform system’s objective was to get people off the welfare system and onto the
The intentions of welfare reform is simply to reduce dependency, reduce child poverty, and to strengthen marriages (in line citation website). However, taking away a low income families chance for help is not going to help their poverty. The idea of getting rid of the help a family needs, in order to help the family end their poverty is contradictory. This is more likely to leave families stuck in poverty, or even send them below if their aid gets removed.
As a social worker it is important to engage in policy practice. It is a part of the profession, whether you like it or not. It is an aspect that can change the way things are done for clients in a good way or bad. If you want to be more affective in practice, advocating for policies is one way of making sure your clients receive what they deserve. Chapin (2011) talks about how as a social worker you cannot take on every social policy issue, but it is important to consider the policies that affect your client population.
School social workers work within schools to provide a variety of social, emotional, and mental health services to students to support overall success. The intent of this research is to evaluate the significance of having a school social worker available to general education students within the Owatonna High School setting and to examine the gaps in services that may have appeared since removal of this position in 2009. Various related studies were examined to outline a range of ways in which school social workers are used to support student success. During this study, a total of seven employees of the Owatonna School District were interviewed regarding school social work. As a whole the participants identified a large number of gaps
Living in different countries, we always wonder if everyday life routines are the same. Some of these routines, would include education, social life, and most important of all career perspectives. Rules and procedures vary from the different business you apply to however do the different rules and procedures vary from the countries that business thrive from? The purpose of this essay is to describe the differences and similarities from the National Association of Social Workers and the International Federation of Social Workers.
In today’s modern society, the United States faces many public policy issues, whether those issues include social welfare, immigration or even environmental issues. Congress receives numerous issues on public polices every day, but they cannot handle and solve every issues that comes across their daily agenda, nor can they satisfy every person in this country. Congress prioritizes on those issues that are more important and relevant to find a probable solution too. A growing issue we see that in today’s society are issues in the social welfare system. Social Welfare has so many issues within some of those issues include the food stamps, and even in the healthcare system. The matters in social welfare requires every individuals help to resolve, not just congress. The second major public policy issue we face in American today are within the Public Assistance Programs. Those programs include the SNAP, SSI, and even the TANF program.