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Final Exam Review

Q: A key point to analyzing social policy is determining _____________________

the extent to which individual versus societal factors can be conceived as a source and a solution to social problems. 'The private troubles of an individual and the public issues of which they form a part.' - C, Wright Mills

88 important questions on Final Exam Review

Low income measure (LIM)

A fixed percentage (50%) of median adjusted economic family income, where "adjusted" indicates that family needs (size) are taken into.

Tends to reduce the number of people in poverty by 2 - 3 percentage points.

Market basket measure (MBM)

A measure of low income based on the cost of a specified basket of goods and services representing a modest, basic standard of living.

It includes the costs of food, clothing, footwear, transportation, shelter and other expenses for a reference family of two adults aged 25 to 49 and two children (aged 9 and 13).

Society's options for dealing with poverty

decide to leave more and more people behind;
find ways to distribute wealth more efficiently and equitably; or
hope to find ways for people to receive more income form their own efforts and work.

Rationales for establishing poverty lines

poverty lines are needed to determine the number of people living in poverty.
They are used to inform and motivate those receiving and administrating social services programs.
They help to set the parameter of an accepted"market basket".
Poverty lines help future social policy planner for setting income security levels.

percent of the world's wealth is shared by percent of its population.

one, 50

Canada's richest percent of families take home almost _ of all income.

20, 50

Inequality in Canadian after-tax income increased between 1976 and 2004, driven by widening differences in _______________.

family market income

Unequal societies have less and less __ for people with lower and middle incomes.

economic redistribution, commitment to social and health programs

________ , or a little under five million Canadians live in poverty.

one in seven

People living with disabilities (both mental and physical) are _____ as likely to live below the poverty line.

twice

Connection between Canadian social and economic policies

The state of the economy determines which social programs are needed.
Recent patterns of social spending have been dependent on the government's economic priority of fiscal restraint in order to reduce deficit spending.
Some people believe that social programs discourage economic growth.

Regressive tax system

The same tax level is imposed on all citizens, which means that those who make the least money lose more money when paying sales taxes.

Progressive tax system

A tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the person's marginal tax rate.

Two factors that would alleviate the problem of people not wanting to work:

decent jobs
child care for working parents

A key point to analyzing social policy is determining _____________________

the extent to whichindividual versus societal factors can be conceived as a source and a solution to social problems.
"The private troubles of an individual and the public issues of which they form a part."
- C, Wright Mills

Four essential issues of Canadian social policies in the 21st century

the environmental imperative;
globalization;
social welfare retrenchment; and
changing conceptions of social welfare in relation to citizenship and social inclusion

Rachel Carson (1962 – The Silent Spring)

Scientist and editor, became chief of publications for US fish and wildlife service
Disturbed by pesticides after WW2, wanted to warn the public of misuse
USDA’s Fire Ant Eradication Program was her focus: spraying of DDT and fuel oil sprayed on land.
Challenged agricultural scientist and governments
Testified before congress for new policies to protect health and the environment
Government backed up her scientific claims.

The current global population is billion, which is a large cause of _______.

7, overpopulation

Canadians have an average ______ _ of 7.01 global hectares per person, and American's have an average of 8.0

ecological footprint

Canada would need to diminish CO2 emissions ____________ over the next 50 years to be on par with other countries.

80 percent

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change

UN Framework Convention (1997) on climate change set binding obligations for industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases
International treaty entered into force on February 16th, 2005
September 2011, 191 states signed and ratified the protocol
ii. Under the protocol 37 industrialized countries committed themselves to limit or reduce their emissions of 4 greenhouse gases
EXCEPT THE US (Afghanistan, Andorra, & South Sudan)

Canada and the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change

Peter Kent, Canada’s Minister of the Environment withdrew.
Decision would save Canada 14 billion in penalties for not meeting emissions target agreed upon in 1997
Harper was hostile towards the Kyoto agreement, which was signed by Chretien
Charged its predecessors with never making any attempts to comply with it.
Concerned along with the US the Kyoto’s rules only apply to rich countries (and not India and China)

The world uses barrels of oil per second, per day

1,000 87 miliion

Sach's four ways in which Canadians can reframe their patterns of consumption

co-share goods & commodities that are not required on a daily basis (skis, bikes)
use and further develop public transportation infrastructures, rather than roads for cars.
Plan more dense, walkable communities.
Reduce, reuse and recycle.

Two areas that Canada has neglected

Unregulated livestock sewage and nitrogen in farm fertilizers contaminating water tables.
Cosmetic and pharmaceutical residue in water sources.

OPEC (The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries)

is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Three times in history the middle class has surged

19th century Europe
1945 - early 1960's North American Baby Boom
1990 - 2008 the developing world's middle class swelled.

Changes in beliefs and motivations when the poor become middle class:

More likely to:

seek education for their children;
desire prosperity,
insist on greater accountability from those who govern;
be less deferential to prevailing structures of authority.

Why are food prices rising worldwide?

Due in part to a growing international middle class that possesses greater resources to purchase food.

Between the 1980's and the fall of 2008, corporation's major remaining check was ____.

the marketplace

Strategies Canadian government is using for reduced public spending

targeting resources only to those presumed most in need (no more Universal Family Allowance)
increase focus on job training and "social preparation" for employment (Workfare)

In Canada, the social rights of citizens have been protected through

federal social programs (Canada Assistance Plan)

When Canada replaced the Canada Assistance Plan with the CHST (Canada Health and Social Transfer), the federal government ended its commitment to a ____

social "floor" below which federal funding for provincially administered social programs would not be cut.

Fear of a two-tiered system of citizen ship is being pushed in Canada one tier for _ and another superior tier for _.

those who depend on public resources, those who have the money to use the marketplace.

_ _ is becoming the catalyst for improved social welfare

citizen participation

Two British traditions that have strongly influenced Canadian social policy (immigration policy, ex.)

British Poor Laws (deserving and undeserving poor)
social Darwinism (support for racial hierarchies)

Three groups whose rights are protected in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom

founding peoples (positive rights for education)
Aboriginal peoples (negative rights often involving non-interference)
other ethnic minorities (negative rights)

Two main principles of Canada's social policies

ensuring that vulnerable populations did not fall below the poverty line;
facilitating some redistribution of wealth from the haves to the have nots.

Requisites for "economic immigrants" to enter Canada

Applicants must demonstrate the requisite:

skills
education
work history or
money

The "third force" in Canadian politics

immigrants

Adjustment Assistance Program

provides financial assistance for basic needs of socio-economically vulnerable immigrants on arrival.

Bill C-11, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

This law permits three basic groups to enter Canada as permanent residents:

economic immigrants
family-class immigrants
refugees

Family -class immigrants

Enter Canada on contingency that the sponsoring relative will provide for the arriving family member for three years.

Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act

Legislation provides the legal grounds for the feds to revoke citizenship status of dual Canadian citizens, if those individuals are found guilty of commiting treason, terrorism, or other serious criminal offences.

Two types of Canadian refugees:

convention refugees (UN Convention status of refugees)
refugees in need of protection.

Inuit are Aboriginal people who are culturally and legally distinct from Indian people and who are not _________________________.

considered to be registered Indians.

In 2008, Bill C-27 repealed Section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which

sheilded the federal and First Nations governments from human rights complaints related to actions arising from the Indian Act.

Four main goals of First Nations' political activities

ending the paternalistic relationship due to the Indian Act
devolving social programs from federal and provincial auspices to First Nations' control;
working towards self-government;
revitalize Aboriginal communities.

Women make up the majority of the _____ in Canada

poor.

The _ _, Bill C-38, permits legal marriage between same-sex partners (2005)

Civil Marriage Act

1981 report "Obstacles" lists three goals by and for disabled persons:

respect and dignity;
empowerment to participate in decisions regarding their own lives and futures;
accommodations providing the means to participate.

Two basic approaches to disabilities in Canadian social policy

biomedical approach
human rights model approach

Three policy areas through which services related to ability are considered and delivered:

biomedical services;
employment programs;
health and safety legislation;

Three challenges to Canadian society and government for disability advocacy

the rights of people with disabilities to equal treatment as individuals with full citizenship;
the rights to organize autonomously, outside of health care and policy sectors;
acknowledgement of the view that disability is a social construction, often more reflective of the fears and feelings of others than of the experiences of people with disabilities.

_________ regions in Canada continue to be economically exploited, and when their natural resources are depleted, problems of unemployment, poverty, and limited labour mobility are intensified.

hinterland

Two frameworks for understanding injustice

socioeconomic injustice (rooted in the political-economic structure of society)
insufficient "recognition" injustice is cultural and symbolic rather than material.

Questions that social workers should ask regarding the effectiveness of practice models in achieving the desired social outcome of social inclusion, AS WELL AS the desired individual outcomes for members of the service user group.

Is this model of practice ideal?
If not, what model of practice could be better?
In what ways could these practice frameworks be adapted to support improved social outcomes for this service user group?

What is the role of non-profits (the "third-way")?

promote social networking & democratic development
challenge existing authorities

What is the importance of direct service nonprofits in contemporary social welfare?

Provide ongoing community needs assessments;
Help promote and shape the progress of social welfare;
Take over more of the government's role in providing direction for the development of quality services;
Partner with government to help provide goods and services for the general population.

What is the continuum of association for civil society actors?

individual forms of association
grass roots initiatives
formal nonprofit organizations
service sector workers
intra-sectoral partnerships

Product-based social innovations

Those where new programs and services are created to meet emerging or unmet demand.

Two key ways direct social service nonprofits shape social policy and social welfare development

Public awareness initiatives
Engage in activities that influence public policy directly.

Social policy analysis

Identifying ways in which social policies are having an impact on the social wellbeing of service user groups and within society more generally, helping to identify solution to solve or alleviate persistent and emerging social problems.

How might social policy analysis be used to examine socio-political well-being?

Social-political well-being includes aspects of human rights.

Social policy analysis might investigate the extent to which employee rights legislation has an impact on supporting the equal participation of groups like developmentally delayed adults.

How might social policy analysis be used to examine socio-cultural well-being?

Socio-cultural well-being includes policies that support multiculturalism or prevent discrimination.

Social policy analysis might consider the effects of discrimination among various racial minority groups in the education or health care system.

How might social policy analysis be used to examine psycho-social well-being?

Psycho-social well-being includes aspects related to people's intra-personal functioning, such as psychological distress.

Social policy analysis might investigate employee support policies within private businesses that best support worker mental health.

One key aspect of social policy analysis is weighting different ________________.

options for intervention (government level, organization level, etc)

Two main things that impact social policy creation are and .

general societal values and beliefs
dominant ideological perspectives

It is important for social workers to develop skills to make social policy analysis based on _____________________ at organizational and government levels.

evidence-informed decisions

What is the purpose of social policy analysis?

To implement rational techniques to understand the scope of general social problems and the ways in which current social policies are having a negative effect on specific social groups.

The Comprehensive Approach to social policy analysis

Examine global objectives based on social values and then translate those policies into public policies, social institutions, social programs, and social services.

The Rational Decision-Making Model approach to social policy analysis

identify and clarify a social problem;
identify and rank goals with respect to that problem;
develop strategies that can remedy the problems (or achieve the goals)
carefully examine all possible consequences; and
decide on which policy best acheives government/organizational goals.

The Incremental Model (Braybrooke & Lindblom, 1963)

Views policy-making as "muddling through" by making incremental adjustments to existing policies.

The Mixed-Scanning Model (Etzioni, 1968)

Mixture of both the comprehensive and incremental approaches to social policy analysis.
Address issues and then adjust the policies to reflect unforeseen social realities.

The Values Competition Model (Rein, 1974)

Suggests that social policy is concerned with choice among competing values.
Society consists of people holding diverse values (world views) who are in competition with one another and with another's values in an effort to achieve maximum power.

Social Justice and the Comprehensive Model of Social Policy (Gil, 1970)

Good social policies should be concerned not only with life-sustaining activities that ensure minimum basic needs, but also with life-enhancing activities that stimulate human potential.

The Value Criteria Model (Haskins & Gallagher, 1981)

After determining what the problem is and what policy alternatives are available to address the problem, policy-makers must use value criteria, informed by universal and selective values, and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate each policy alternative.

The Garbage Can Model (Kingdom, 1995)

Theory suggest that three types of policy processes: problems, solutions, and politics - operate individually and independently until a crisis or situation that requires all three to come together. Resolving the crisis is dependent on:

how the public perceive the problem
what the current political agenda is; and
who the participants are.

Social and public policies are often about struggles between ___ and how some values become _ and why.

value preferences
dominant

Gil's Model of social policies

Social policy is a set of guiding principles that govern societal life and that must be of great concern to social workers.

Social policies should control all other public policies, excluding religion and foreign trade.
society violence stems from the damage that social institutions do to people.

Patterned inequalities (Gil's Model)

Throughout history, systemic inequalities have resulted in social arrangements that benefit selected members of society and disadvantage the remaining members of society.

Wharf's ordinary and grand issues of social policy

grand issues: those pertaining to the fundamental structure of political-economic life (politics, wealth distribution)

ordinary issues:the governance of child welfare services, development of community support programs, etc.

Social workers should concern themselves with ordinary issues as these are the issues that directly affect the lives of people.

Steps in implementing the incremental model of social policy

define and rank governing values
specify objectives compatible with these values;
identify all relevant options or means of achieving these objectives;
calculate all consequences of these options and compare them;
choose the option or combination of options that would maximize the values earlier defined as being important.

What is a criticism of the incremental approach to social policy?

Social workers become too preoccupied with resolving local or immediate issues stemming from social policy that they do not pay enough attention to the social issues that may be creating the problem in the first place.

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

Is an assesment of the various options that are available based on the monetary costs and benefits (including labour, time, and savings) of different approaches, policies or practices.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis (CEA)

A comparison of the relative costs and effects of choosing any of two or more outcome. SImilar to CBA, but in CEA, the outcomes are NOT monetized.

Future directions in social welfare and social policy development

social rights
socio-economic equality
social economy
civic engagement

Social finance initiatives

social impact bonds
pay for performance contracts
social investment funds

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

SOCWK 300 Canadian Social Policy

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