SOCW 6351: Social Policy, Welfare, and Change
1. Discussion 1 Respond to two colleagues by explaining a change for which you might advocate with regard to the policy your colleague described. Then, explain what responsibility Ebonis social worker has to identify lapses in services and advocate for policy changes.
Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Discussion 1 Colleagues Post 1 
DeAnna Oliver 
RE: Discussion 1 – Week 4
           Part of being an effective social worker is being aware and utilizing resource such as public assistance or means-tested programs. In the case of Eboni (2014), Eboni is a pregnant teen who is faced with the decision to terminate the pregnancy or become a teen mother. In South Carolina, Eboni could be eligible for means-tested programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Food and Nutrition Programs, Head Start, Special Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Medicaid, and SC Voucher Program (DSS. SC.gov/assistance).
           The temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) provides cash assistance, employment, and training services to individual while working towards financial stability. The TANF is available till Ebonis child is five years old. Medicaid is a medical assistance program that require re-applying every six months (U.S. Government, 2018). This medical assistance programs could be long term, as long as Eboni continues to fall under the income limit. WIC and SNAP are all food assistance programs that promote nutrition for individuals and families (U.S. Government, 2018). SNAP could be a long-term program, as long as Eboni remains under the income limit, whereas WIC would be available to Eboni as long as she falls under the income limit and her child under the age of five (U.S. Government, 2018). The Head Start program would be available to Eboni until her child is five, unless she above the income requirements (U.S. Government, 2018).
           These programs would provide Eboni with beneficial assistance, however its essential to continue to encourage Eboni to further her education and employment in hopes that Eboni would be able to support her family without means-tested program. Additionally, its important that Eboni has a reliable support system, whether that be her friends, teachers at school, church, sports teammates, family. Having a solid support system will help Eboni overcome the adversity of being a teen parent
References:
Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. (Eds.). (2014). Sessions: Case histories. Baltimore: MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing. [Vital Source e-reader].
TANF Program (2018). TANF Program. What is TANF.
U.S. Government (2018). Benefits.

Discussion 1 Colleagues Post 2
Chelsea Soifua 
RE: Discussion 1 – Week 4
Means-tested programs available to Eboni would be SNAP and TANIF. If Eboni chose to keep her baby she would get assistance with providing food for her child and her home. The goal of the SNAP program is to provide access to food for families and individuals who are struggling to afford groceries. This program aims to help these households achieve a balanced diet by introducing them to nutritious foods. An additional service in Missouri that would benefit a client like Eboni is the Temporary Assistance program. This program is a cash benefit for low-income families to help cover costs for the households children, such as clothing, utilities and other services. These programs help families to stabilize their homes and provide needed items for their children.
References
Learn about Missouri snap benefits. My Food Stamps. (2020, September 4). Retrieved
September 21, 2021, from https://my-food-stamps.org/snap-benefits/missouri/#:~:text=Learn%20About%20SNAP%20Benefits%20in%20Missouri.%20The%20Missouri,to%20households%20who%20may%20be%20at%20nutritional%20risk.

2. Discussion 2 Respond to two colleagues by explaining how social workers might help to alleviate the stigma based on the explanations your colleagues provided.
Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Discussion 2 Colleagues Post 1
Samuel Rullo Ribeiro 
RE: Discussion 2 – Week 4
According to the Popple & Leighninger text, the purpose of public assistance program is to provide a safety net (p.104).  This safety net is meant to help individuals and families facing hard financial times rendering them unable to provide for themselves or their families without some assistance.
Some argue that such public assistance programs disincentivizes finding work. According to the (Popple & Leighninger, 2019) text, most individuals who leave TANF do so because they have reached the maximum time limit an individual can receive such benefits. This statistic can indicate that individuals utilizing a program such TANF do so for as long as possible.
There is certainly a stigma surrounding these programs. People utilizing public assistance programs are often accused of gaming the system or taking a free ride. In my opinion public assistance programs appear to be imperfect.  Leaving room for individuals to receive benefits instead of working, despite being able to work.  However, I have no doubt that there are many people utilizing these programs who are in a time of desperate need.  Some of these people will leave public assistance programs because they have found employment and are able to support themselves and their family. Some people will leave because they have timed out but still wont or are unable to work and provide.  Regardless, I think that public assistance programs are necessary and should be in place.
I personally do not have a negative perception of public assistance programs. My goal with working with any client, regardless of financial status or circumstance is to help address whatever problems are presented in a professional and ethical manner.
Resources:
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.
Discussion 2 Colleagues Post 2
Chelsea Soifua 
RE: Discussion 2 – Week 4
Bentele and Nicoli state that advocates for the reform of welfare view dependency as both the cause and effect of a variety of social ills, including teenage pregnancy, crime, and low labor-market participation among racial and ethnic minorities (Bentele, & Nicoli, 2012). While growing up my family would have qualified for services but my parents did not want to rely on the state. People believe that those who come to the state for aid are not doing everything that they can to better their lives. I believe that programs like TANF and SNAP do create some type of dependency. These programs aide families in getting much needed resources. At the same time, they ease some of the burden on the families to provide these items for their homes. As a result, when the families get better paying jobs and no longer qualify for the services, they need the services more than before because now they have gotten a better paying job but have lost the assistance they were receiving. This causes families to have to decide to struggle with a better paying job or forgo the job and remain on assistance. As a social worker I am able to see that these clients need the assistance. I am also able to see if the client is struggling with the concerns of having the assistance.
References
Bentele, K. G., & Nicoli, L. T. (2012). Ending Access as We Know It: State Welfare Benefit Coverage in
the TANF Era. Social Service Review, 86(2), 223“268. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1086/666735

Follow Rubric
Peer Feedback and Interaction
22.5 (22.5%) – 25 (25%)
The feedback postings and responses to questions are excellent and fully contribute to the quality of interaction by offering constructive critique, suggestions, in-depth questions, additional resources, and stimulating thoughts and/or probes.

Writing
13.5 (13.5%) – 15 (15%)
Postings are well organized, use scholarly tone, contain original writing and proper paraphrasing, follow APA style, contain very few or no writing and/or spelling errors, and are fully consistent with graduate level writing style.