SWK 5002 Week 7 Discussion

SWK 5002 Week 7 Discussion

Student Name

Capella University

MSW: SWK5002

Professor Name

Date

SWK5002 Week 7 Discussion

The years 1945-1974 can be considered to be one of the most remarkable periods of growth of American social welfare. This period, commonly referred to as the Golden Age of welfare, was symptomatic of the changes in international, national political, economic, and social expectations. The events following World War II meant that the United States had to deal with such issues as reconstruction of the economy, inequality and the consequences of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. These years transformed the way in which America viewed social welfare to spawn policies that are still a part of the discussion today regarding social welfare.

Should America Have Become a Welfare State?

The question of whether or not America should have become a welfare state is a complicated one. On the one hand, the welfare state is a sign of the willingness of the nation to protect the vulnerable groups and attain economic stability. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the expansion of unemployment benefits were programs which pointed to a developing sense that the government had an obligation to provide a safety net (Kreuter et al., 2021).

Critics, on the other hand, said that such policies brought a lack of self-reliance, an increase in federal authority, and dependency. To complicate the picture further, even the notion of the welfare state was suspicious in the ambience of the Cold War, i.e. the U.S. assumed a more humble welfare state stance than European countries. However, the growth of 1945-1974 demonstrates that America tended to become a welfare state but the American way, that is, a balance of individualism and social responsibility.

Institutional Conception of Social Welfare

The institutional conception of social welfare takes social welfare as a regular part of government. Contrary to the residual approach, which sees welfare as a short-term addition to people unable to make it in the market, the institutional perspective sees welfare programs as necessary for every citizen and not just for people with low incomes (Kunißen, 2022). This conception was popular from 1945 to 1974. Social Security was broadened, Medicare and Medicaid came into being in 1965, and programs such as Head Start tried to open up prospects to children. Such programmes established the fact that social welfare was not the preserve of the marginalised people, but a right of the citizenry.

Residual View and Its Policy Impact

Despite the growing number of institutional programs, the residual view was still impacting policy. This view made possible the further stigmatisation of welfare recipients and endorsed welfare programs based on means, such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Such programs tended to have harsh eligibility requirements, and were viewed as charity and not a right. The struggle of institutional and residual perspectives informed the duality of the U.S. welfare policy, in which one side of the welfare policy was universalistic and conditionalist. This split still lingers in the policies today, especially on issues of healthcare, housing, and food assistance debates.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Considerations

Between the years 1945 and 1974, there was evidence of diversity, equity and inclusion, which was, however, inconsistently practised. The Civil Rights Movement forced policymakers to deal with the problem of systematic discrimination in housing, education, and employment (Banaji et al., 2021). The War on Poverty, which was started by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, had programs to deal with economic and racial inequality.

Such measures as affirmative action and desegregation policies attempted to help right historical wrongs. Nevertheless, the specific needs of the poor, like women, immigrants and indigenous communities, were not addressed in several programmes. As an example, AFDC targeted women of colour disproportionately, and the program was often criticised and politically attacked in such a way as to reproduce both racial and gender stereotypes.

Impact on Current Social Work Policies and Practices

This period still has an effect on the current social work. Policies on healthcare access, child welfare and poverty alleviation all draw their cues from the institutional foundations of 1945 to 1974 today. Simultaneously, the existing trends of equity and inclusion have showcased the flaws of the previous strategies. As an example, Medicare and Medicaid are still the staples of the healthcare system; however, they continue to struggle with the issues of racial health disparities. The current trend is to help train social workers to have a DEI lens in their applied practice so that the services are culturally responsive and equitable. The incomplete job of 19451974 period systemic racism and gender inequality are at the heart of the current reforms.

Conclusion

The growth of the welfare system between 1945 and 1974 was a contradiction as well as a growth. America adopted some part of the welfare state, but did not want to institutionalise welfare the way it was in the European models. The institutional and residual approaches co-existed to create a puzzling policy environment which is still influencing the arguments on entitlement and dependency. More importantly, the period planted the seeds of modern DEI considerations, although they did not sprout in that period. To social workers, it is essential to know this history in order to be able to respond to the present challenge and to develop a vision of equity, inclusivity and sustainability of welfare.

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