Social Welfare
The United States government has offered and continues to offer a wide variety of social welfare programs and benefits to meet a variety of needs by its citizens. Some of the more popular programs considered welfare will vary from person to person depending on their welfare definition. However, the general welfare programs available are the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, WIC program, TANF payments, AFDC program (which has now been replaced by the TANF benefits) and more. In this article we will examine various welfare facts and look into the history of welfare in the United States, as seen through these popular programs currently in place by the federal government. Keep in mind also that the social welfare aspects can also come from private organizations as well. One good example of this is the Public Welfare Foundation. We’ll focus on government programs here.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
The SNAP program, otherwise known as the Food Stamp program, was created at the end of the Great Depression to ensure that all Americans had access to clean and healthy food. The program is still a vital part of the social welfare of the country. Approximately half of the individuals who are on the SNAP program are children aged 17 and younger.
To qualify for the SNAP program you cannot have more than $2,000 in “countable resources” if you are single and no more than $3,000 if you are married. Countable resources includes bank accounts, cash value inside of life insurance and homes with more than $500,000 in value. Resources that are not countable includes one automobile and any payments you receive from either the Supplemental Security Income or TANF (formerly AFDC) program.
The WIC program offers compensation, healthcare and food benefits to low income households with infants and minor children under the age of five. To qualify for benefits the household income of the applicant cannot be more than 185 percent of the Federal poverty standard (which is set annually by the United States Department of Health and Human Services). However, if you are already receiving SNAP payments, Medicaid benefits or TANF food stamps you will be automatically eligible for the WIC program.
TANF Benefits
The TANF program is more commonly known as the Food Stamp program and feeds millions of families per year. The TANF program is jointly administered by both the United States government and each individual state government. The program aims to help people become self-sufficient, encourage families to remain together and encourage two-parent families and preventing pregnancies out of wedlock.
The Benefit of Social Welfare Programs
These programs described above are just a few of the many different social welfare programs available to individuals inside the United States. The purpose of these programs is to help those who would otherwise go without to have a minimum standard of living. Unfortunately, there are those who engage in welfare abuse and either lie to receive benefits the are not entitled to or remain on benefit programs for durations longer than they should under the law.
The ultimate goal is to raise the level of poverty throughout the country so that social welfare programs can ultimately be reduced (or, in an ideal world, eliminated). While we work towards that goal these programs will be there to help those who are in need.
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