Public assistance and social insurance programs provide assistance to individuals and families with financial needs.
Week 5: Social Security
Public assistance and social insurance programs provide assistance to individuals and families with financial needs. Yet, as you begin to examine these programs more closely, you will discover that the policies often have service gaps or disparities.
Sometimes, these disparities are unintentional. Other times, they may be designed to exclude various sub-groups and populations. It is always important that you are aware of these disparities in order to provide accurate referral information to clients. This knowledge will also make you an educated and effective advocate for changes.
This week, you compare differences between Social Security and public assistance programs and how these programs influence social perceptions and potentially create disparities. You also identify causes of social problems and examine the theoretical explanations and approaches that are involved.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Compare Social Security with public assistance programs
Analyze differences between Social Security and public assistance programs in relation to perceptions of Social Security benefits
Apply strategies for managing perceptions of Social Security benefits and public assistance programs
Analyze disparities in the Social Security program
Analyze strategies social workers might use to advocate for fair Social Security benefits for disenfranchised populations
Identify the causes of a social issueIdentify the theoretical explanations and approaches of a social problem
Evaluate the effectiveness of social policie
Discussion 1: Social Security and Social Welfare Programs
For years, many working individuals in the United States have counted on Social Security as their primary retirement income. With the deductions from every paycheck to fund this future benefit, Americans looked forward to a comfortable retirement based on the assumption that these funds were being invested wisely. Is this a factual assumption, or is it another myth of the U.S. social welfare system?
Relying on Social Security as a sole means of support in retirement is uncommon. As society’s work habits and life expectancies change, Social Security has come to mean different things to different people. For those who are unable to save and/or invest on their own, it functions like a forced retirement program that provides a financial safety net for the future. For those who become unable to work, social security often is viewed by others as a public assistance program. For others who are financially secure and prepared for retirement, it is an entitlement program where individuals draw Social Security at retirement in an effort to recoup what they paid into the program by deductions from their wages. How might these perceptions of Social Security relate to the perceptions of public assistance programs that were discussed in last week’s resources?
For this Discussion, review this week’s resources. Then, consider how Social Security is different from public assistance programs. Finally, think about how these differences are important in terms of the general perception of Social Security benefits.
By Day 3Post an explanation of how Social Security is different from public assistance programs. Then, explain how these differences are important, in terms of the general perception of Social Security benefits.
Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
By Day 5Read a selection of your colleagues\\\’ posts.
Respond 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.
Required Readings
Popple, P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2019). The policy-based profession: An introduction to social welfare policy analysis for social workers (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Chapter 7, “Aging: Social Security as an Entitlement” (pp. 138-160)NASW. (2009). Social work speaks. Washington, DC: NASW Press.Long-term Care (pp. 223–228)U.S. Social Security Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2013, from http://www.ssa.gov/
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