Welfare Programs

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WELFARE PROGRAMS

The history of welfare programs in the United States is a controversial one. Although many other nations in the world have welfare systems, some of which provide certain kinds of assistance for all citizens, the United States has always been divided in terms of what welfare means and who should receive welfare benefits. The welfare system in America underwent significant changes in the late 1990s in order to reduce the number of people receiving certain types of welfare benefits. This occurred as a result of political and economic changes that caused American society to reexamine the meaning of its welfare programs against a rising tide of concern about and disdain for public assistance. In order to understand the welfare system of the early twenty-first century, however, it is important to first understand and reflect upon the inception and history of welfare in the United States.

Early History of Welfare in the United States

Prior to the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s, there was no systematic federal service for providing help or relief to struggling citizens. State programs were fragmented, and charity was sporadically offered by various church organizations and community efforts. As the impact of the Great Depression spread across the United States, it was clear that some type of system was necessary in order to curtail the devastating effects of poverty and joblessness. President Franklin Roosevelt proposed a massive overhaul of the government by devising the New Deal in the 1930s, which was essentially a package of various social and welfare benefits aimed at relieving the effects of the Great Depression. The reality of this new welfare state would provide debate and controversy in political, social, and economic realms from that point forward.

Social Security

Although many Americans believe that welfare benefits to mothers and children were among the most costly and widely used welfare programs, in truth the biggest expenditures were funneled toward the Social Security program, developed in 1935. The Social Security Act (SSA) was targeted at several groups, including the elderly, the totally disabled, and families with children of deceased workers. Social Security was considered to be a universal program, in the sense that it was to provide coverage for all working Americans, as it continues to do. With this program, benefits were paid to individuals retiring from work at a preset age. The amount of benefits received was directly tied to the amount of money a person earned during her work history. Furthermore, if an adult or a child were deemed to have a significant disability that prevented the individual from working, then benefits would be paid to that individual through the Social Security Disability Income program, in the case of an adult, or the Supplemental Security Income program, in the case of a child. Finally, if a working parent were to die, then a specified amount of benefits would be paid to the surviving family. The Social Security program continues to provide benefits in this fashion, although it has been a source of some controversy, particularly because all individuals are entitled to these benefits, regardless of how much money they have or earn.

Employment Programs

The New Deal initiative with the second highest amount of funding was related to employment benefits, namely unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. Through the unemployment insurance program, workers who lose their jobs (not because of misbehavior or quitting) are allowed to collect a set amount of compensation, which is typically limited in duration to twenty-six weeks or less. Like Social Security, benefits are available to workers at all levels, with benefits being higher for upper-income jobs. Once individuals collect unemployment insurance, they must work for an additional period before being eligible to receive benefits again.

Workers' compensation is a welfare benefit that provides medical and cash assistance to individuals who are injured on the job. It is limited to job injuries only and provides aid to those who are not permanently disabled. Both unemployment insurance and workers' compensation continue to be provided in much the same fashion in the early twenty-first century, and both programs are considered universal, because they provide coverage to all working Americans.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Perhaps the most controversial welfare programs were and continue to be those related to mothers, children, and the poor. This third tier of welfare programs, which received the least amount of initial funding compared to the other two, primarily targeted single mothers with children. In 1933 as part of the New Deal, Roosevelt created Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which was a means-tested program. In its inception, this program was designed to be a short-term, transitional solution to the problems faced by single poor women with children, many of whom were minorities as well. Small cash benefits were offered to recipients, although the recipients were monitored by caseworkers who maintained a high degree of latitude in determining who would receive benefits and how much they would get. Although recipients were not expected to work, some Americans soon worried that these individuals were taking advantage of the system and that the benefits awarded to them were undeserved. The AFDC program quickly became the most stigmatizing welfare program to evolve from the New Deal.

Welfare Programs of the 1960s

As the use of these New Deal welfare programs exploded over several decades, the administrations of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson of the 1960s saw a resurgence of public interest in issues regarding minorities, the poor, and children. During this time, new welfare programs were created to help address the continued spread of poverty, homelessness, hunger, and medical problems—difficulties that plagued many of America's citizens. The Food Stamp Act of the 1960s attempted to address the nation's problem of hunger by providing another means-tested program for the poor, the disabled, and single-parent households, in the form of food stamps. Also established was the Medicaid program, which was means-tested and offered medical care to poor children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. Unlike Medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly, Medicaid involved financial contributions from the states. These programs continued to exist into the twenty-first century, although many restrictions and time limitations had been added.

Welfare Reform

Although history shows that efforts were made, in particular decades and through particular political administrations, to address the effects of poverty, homelessness, and hunger on American citizens, there has always been controversy about the effectiveness of the means-tested programs, such as AFDC, food stamps, and Medicaid. Furthermore, the growth of AFDC, which had reached a peak of 14.2 million recipients by 1994, concerned many Americans. Consequently, in 1996 a sweeping welfare reform package entitled the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It effectively eliminated the nearly sixty-year-old entitlement welfare program initiated by Roosevelt. PRWOA remanded the responsibility for certain welfare programs back to the states. Block grants, in the amount of $16.5 billion, representing funds that would have been part of AFDC, were distributed to states in hopes that more effective and creative programs would be developed, based upon the particular needs of each state.

Within the PRWOA legislation, the new welfare program is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and it differs significantly from the old AFDC program in many ways. One significant difference is that recipients are no longer guaranteed or entitled to receive assistance. Furthermore, TANF stipulated that eligible recipients of cash assistance must be working within two years of receiving benefits. Likewise, in an effort to address concerns about long-term welfare dependency, TANF placed a five-year, lifetime limit on receiving assistance except for a certain 20 percent of recipients who are considered to fall within a "hardship" category. Many states have opted to reduce the five-year cap to an even fewer number of years, which is allowed under the PRWOA legislation. The TANF policy is clear that only pregnant women and families with children are eligible for the assistance, although states have been given a certain amount of latitude in determining how they spend their federal block grant monies.

Since the enactment of TANF, the number of people on welfare has been reduced dramatically. By 1999, only 7.2 million recipients remained on welfare, compared to the 14.2 million of 1994. This 7.2 million figure included 2.6 million families and 5.1 million children. Policy analysts contended that several factors contributed to the decline in welfare numbers, including an improved American economy and tougher work requirements of the welfare programs. From the late 1990s into the initial years of the twenty-first century, recipients moved more quickly off of welfare than in the past, and fewer people began receiving benefits for the first time.

Analysis of Welfare Reform

At the start of the twenty-first century, advocates of welfare reform were pleased with the declining welfare caseloads and viewed the reform as a success. Opponents of welfare reform argued that poverty had not really been reduced, only the number of people receiving welfare benefits. The research regarding welfare reform was mixed, and any number of articles were available to point to either the success or failure of welfare reform. A New York Times article from January 23, 2000, indicated that the welfare-to-work policies had actually helped improve academic achievement of low-income students. The article went on to suggest that certain welfare programs emphasizing increased work and increased income improved the lives of children significantly. The author, however, did not mention that research existed suggesting that many children and families continued to live below the poverty line, despite increased income from work.

An article from the February 21, 2001, issue of the Boston Globe reported on a discrepancy in public opinion and policy analysis regarding the implications of welfare reform. Although some evidence confirmed that many recipients were leaving the welfare rolls and then finding and keeping jobs, other evidence showed that hunger and poverty continued to be significant issues that were not being addressed by the reform policy. The article reported that whereas 14 percent of families had reported hunger while receiving welfare benefits, 22 percent of families reported hunger after leaving welfare.

Conclusion

The issues surrounding welfare and welfare reform are controversial, political, and difficult to resolve. Almost seventy years after the formation of the welfare state, debate continued about who deserves and who does not deserve benefits. With TANF scheduled to be reauthorized and reevaluated in 2002, the successes and failures of U.S. welfare programs were certain to make for interesting policy discussions well into the twenty-first century.