Social policy

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Social Security Administration headquarters is in Woodlawn, Maryland. Socialsecurityheadquarters.jpg
Social Security Administration headquarters is in Woodlawn, Maryland.

Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, [1] while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD and DO in healthcare), with social policy deemed more holistic than public policy. [2] Whichever of these persuasions a university adheres to, social policy begins with the study of the welfare state and social services. [3] It consists of guidelines, principles, legislation and associated activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare, such as a person's quality of life. The Department of Social Policy at the London School of Economics defines social policy as "an interdisciplinary and applied subject concerned with the analysis of societies' responses to social need", which seeks to foster in its students a capacity to understand theory and evidence drawn from a wide range of social science disciplines, including economics, sociology, psychology, geography, history, law, philosophy and political science. [4] The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard University describes social policy as "public policy and practice in the areas of health care, human services, criminal justice, inequality, education, and labor". [5] Social policy might also be described as actions that affect the well-being of members of a society through shaping the distribution of and access to goods and resources in that society. [6] Social policy often deals with wicked problems. [7]

Contents

The discussion of 'social policy' in the United States and Canada can also apply to governmental policy on social issues such as tackling racism, [8] LGBT issues (such as same-sex marriage) [9] and the legal status of abortion, [10] guns, [11] euthanasia, [12] recreational drugs [13] and prostitution. [14] In other countries, these issues would be classified under health policy and domestic policy.

The study of social policy can either be a stand-alone degree at providers such as the University of Birmingham, University of York, Oxford University, and the University of Pennsylvania, a specialization as part of a public policy degree program such as at McGill University, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Harris School of Public Policy, and the Hertie School of Governance, or a joint degree along with a similar related degree in social work or public health such as at George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. In the Global South, social policy is offered along with public policy degree programmes, as at the Institute of Public Policy, National Law School of India University, Bangalore, combined with development policy.

History

Hans von Aachen, Allegory or The Triumph of Justice (1598) Aachen Allegory.jpg
Hans von Aachen, Allegory or The Triumph of Justice (1598)

Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Social policy was first conceived in the 1940s by Richard Titmuss within the field of social administration in Britain. [15] Titmuss's essay on the "Social Division of Welfare" (1955) laid the development for social policy to gradually absorb social administration. Titmuss was an essayist whose work concerned the failure of the market; the inadequacy of selective social services; and the superiority of collectivism and universal approaches. While some scholars describe social policy as an interdisciplinary field of practice, scholars like Fiona Williams and Pete Alcock believe social policy is a discipline unto itself.

Some of the earliest examples of direct intervention by government in human welfare date back to Ancient Rome's Cura Annonae (grain dole) founded in 123 BC, and Umar ibn al-Khattāb's rule as the second caliph of Islam in the 6th century: he used zakat collections and also other governmental resources to establish pensions, income support, child benefits, and various stipends for people of the non-Muslim community[ citation needed ]. The enactment of English Poor Laws helped curb poverty and recidivism: these laws influenced the justices of Berkshire to implement the Speenhamland system, which was the first social program in the modern sense of that word. In the modern West, proponents of scientific social planning such as the sociologist Auguste Comte, and social researchers, such as Charles Booth, contributed to the emergence of social policymaking in the first industrialised countries following the Industrial Revolution. Surveys of poverty exposing the brutal conditions in the urban slum conurbations of Victorian Britain supplied the pressure leading to changes such as the decline and abolition of the poor law system and Liberal welfare reforms. Other significant examples in the development of social policy are the Bismarckian welfare state in 19th century Germany, social security policies in the United States introduced under the rubric of the New Deal between 1933 and 1935, and both the Beveridge Report and the National Health Service Act 1946 in Britain. Thus, two major models of social insurance arose in practice: Bismarkian welfare from Germany and Beveridgean welfare from Britain.

Social policy in the 21st century is complex and in each state it is subject to local and national governments, as well as supranational political influence. For example, membership of the European Union is conditional on member states' adherence to the Social Chapter of European Union law and other international laws.[ clarify ]

Types

Lady Justice depicts justice as equipped with three symbols: a sword symbolizing the court's coercive power; a human scale weighing competing claims in each hand; and a blindfold indicating impartiality. JMR-Memphis1.jpg
Lady Justice depicts justice as equipped with three symbols: a sword symbolizing the court's coercive power; a human scale weighing competing claims in each hand; and a blindfold indicating impartiality.

Social policy aims to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for education, health, housing and economic security. [17] Important areas of social policy are wellbeing and welfare, poverty reduction, social security, justice, unemployment insurance, living conditions, animal rights, pensions, health care, social housing, family policy, social care, child protection, social exclusion, education policy, crime and criminal justice, urban development, and labor issues.

United States social policy

U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan was the first major U.S. political figure to incorporate formal social policy into official government decisions, a champion of social justice. Bryan is pictured in 1908. William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925.jpg
U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan was the first major U.S. political figure to incorporate formal social policy into official government decisions, a champion of social justice. Bryan is pictured in 1908.

The United States was a pioneer in generous social spending (relative to comparable countries), as it provided substantial social spending for Civil War veterans and their families. [18] However, the United States would go on to lag behind other advanced industrial democracies in social spending.

Religious, racial, ideological, scientific and philosophical movements and ideas have historically influenced American social policy, for example, John Calvin and his idea of pre-destination and the Protestant Values of hard work and individualism. Moreover, Social Darwinism helped mold America's ideas of capitalism and the survival of the fittest mentality. The Catholic Church's social teaching has also been considerably influential to the development of social policy.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's ground breaking New Deal is a paragon example of Social Policy that focused predominantly on a program of providing work and stimulating the economy through public spending on projects, rather than on cash payment. The programs were in response to the Great Depression affecting the United States in the 1930s.

United States politicians who have favored increasing government observance of social policy often do not frame their proposals around typical notions of welfare or benefits; instead, in cases like Medicare and Medicaid , President Lyndon B. Johnson presented a package called the Great Society that framed a larger vision around poverty and quality of life.

President Lyndon B. Johnson would also attempt to implement education policy under his Great Society package, introducing several programs and laws, such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and the Bilingual Education Act of 1967 (BEA), and many others. These laws would form the backbone of the education policy changes of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), introduced during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush with bipartisan support. The law took effect on January 8, 2002, attempting to raise standards in education, address educational inequities (framed as an achievement gap), and issues in schools framed as issues of accountability. The No Child Left Behind Act required every state to assess students on basic skills to receive federal funding. While the law did attempt to address issues underlying U.S. education, its provisions were widely viewed as unsuccessful. States continued to create their own standards while assessing themselves. NCLB also led to the closure of numerous schools labeled "low-performing" or "failing", disproportionately impacting schools that served predominately Black students and rural communities. [19] Provisions of NCLB were changed and replaced under the Race to the Top (R2T, RTTT or RTT) and Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed during the Administration of President Barack Obama.

Insurance has been a growing policy topic, and a recent example of health care law as social policy is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act formed by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on March 23, 2010.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Society</span> Political program launched by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65

The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 and 1965. The term was first referenced during a 1964 speech by Johnson at Ohio University, then later formally presented at the University of Michigan, and came to represent his domestic agenda. The main goal was the total elimination of poverty and racial injustice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of Health and Human Services</span> Department of the US federal government

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of the U.S. people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America". Before the separate federal Department of Education was created in 1979, it was called the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social services</span> Range of public services

Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organizations, or administered by a government agency. Social services are connected with the concept of welfare and the welfare state, as countries with large welfare programs often provide a wide range of social services. Social services are employed to address the wide range of needs of a society. Prior to industrialisation, the provision of social services was largely confined to private organisations and charities, with the extent of its coverage also limited. Social services are now generally regarded globally as a 'necessary function' of society and a mechanism through which governments may address societal issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welfare</span> Means-oriented social benefit

Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance programs which provide support only to those who have previously contributed, as opposed to social assistance programs which provide support on the basis of need alone. The International Labour Organization defines social security as covering support for those in old age, support for the maintenance of children, medical treatment, parental and sick leave, unemployment and disability benefits, and support for sufferers of occupational injury.

Welfare reform is the process of proposing and adopting changes to a welfare system in order to improve the efficiency and administration of government assistance programs with the goal of enhancing equity and fairness for both welfare recipients and taxpayers. Reform programs have various aims: empowering individuals to help them become self-sufficient, ensuring the sustainability and solvency of various welfare programs, and/or promoting equitable distribution of resources. Welfare reform is constantly debated because of the varying opinions on a government's need to balance the imperatives of guaranteeing welfare benefits and promoting self-sufficiency.

The Fair Deal was a set of proposals put forward by U.S. President Harry S. Truman to Congress in 1945 and in his January 1949 State of the Union Address. More generally, the term characterizes the entire domestic agenda of the Truman administration, from 1945 to 1953. It offered new proposals to continue New Deal liberalism, but with a conservative coalition controlling Congress, only a few of its major initiatives became law and then only if they had considerable Republican Party support. As Richard Neustadt concludes, the most important proposals were aid to education, national health insurance, the Fair Employment Practices Commission, and repeal of the Taft–Hartley Act. They were all debated at length, then voted down. Nevertheless, enough smaller and less controversial items passed that liberals could claim some success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Child Left Behind Act</span> 2002 United States education reform law; repealed 2015

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress promoted by the Presidency of George W. Bush. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It mandated standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. To receive federal school funding, states had to create and give assessments to all students at select grade levels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Security Amendments of 1965</span> 1965 United States legislation establishing Medicare and Medicaid

The Social Security Amendments of 1965, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law  89–97, 79 Stat. 286, enacted July 30, 1965, was legislation in the United States whose most important provisions resulted in creation of two programs: Medicare and Medicaid. The legislation initially provided federal health insurance for the elderly and for financially challenged families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur J. Altmeyer</span>

Arthur Joseph Altmeyer was the United States Commissioner for Social Security from 1946 to 1953, and chairman of the Social Security Board from 1937 to 1946. He was a key figure in the design and implementation of the U.S. Social Security system.

Economic progressivism or fiscalprogressivism is a political and economic philosophy incorporating the socioeconomic principles of social democrats and political progressives. These views are often rooted in the concept of social justice and have the goal of improving the human condition through government regulation, social protections and the maintenance of public goods. It is not to be confused with the more general idea of progress in relation to economic growth.

The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. Historically, its work was much broader, as shown by the 1912 act which created and funded it:

The said bureau shall investigate and report to [the Department of Commerce and Labor] upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people, and shall especially investigate the questions of infant mortality, the birth-rate, orphanage, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, accidents and diseases of children, employment, legislation affecting children in the several states and territories.

Social welfare, assistance for the ill or otherwise disabled and the old, has long been provided in Japan by both the government and private companies. Beginning in the 1920s, the Japanese government enacted a series of welfare programs, based mainly on European models, to provide medical care and financial support. During the post-war period, a comprehensive system of social security was gradually established. Universal health insurance and a pension system were established in 1960.

Social welfare in Sweden is made up of several organizations and systems dealing with welfare. It is mostly funded by taxes, and executed by the public sector on all levels of government as well as private organizations. It can be separated into three parts falling under three different ministries. Social welfare is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Research. The labour market is the responsibility of the Ministry of Employment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Titmuss</span> British sociologist

Richard Morris Titmuss was a pioneering British social researcher and teacher. He founded the academic discipline of social administration and held the founding chair in the subject at the London School of Economics.

A social welfare model is a system of social welfare provision and its accompanying value system. It usually involves social policies that affect the welfare of a country's citizens within the framework of a market or mixed economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John C. Goodman</span> Health care economist

John C. Goodman is president and CEO of the Goodman institute for Public Policy Research, a think tank focused on public policy issues. He was the founding chief executive of the National Center for Policy Analysis, which operated from 1982 to 2017. He is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute. The Wall Street Journal and The National Journal have called Goodman the "father of Health Savings Accounts."

William C. Hsiao, an American economist, is the K.T. Li Research Professor of Economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts. He is internationally recognized for his work on health care financing and social insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Security Agency</span> United States government agency

The Federal Security Agency (FSA) was an independent agency of the United States government established in 1939 pursuant to the Reorganization Act of 1939. For a time, the agency oversaw food and drug safety, education funding, administration of public health programs, and the Social Security old-age pension plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social programs in the United States</span> Overview of social programs in the United States of America

The United States spends approximately $2.3 trillion on federal and state social programs including cash assistance, health insurance, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, and education and childcare assistance. Similar benefits are sometimes provided by the private sector either through policy mandates or on a voluntary basis. Employer-sponsored health insurance is an example of this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Abel-Smith</span> British economist

Brian Abel-Smith was a British economist and expert adviser and one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century in shaping health and social welfare. In Britain, his research for the Guillebaud committee in 1956 proved that the NHS provided extremely good value for money and deserved more investment. From the 1960s he was one of a new breed of special advisers to Labour government ministers – helping Richard Crossman, Barbara Castle and David Ennals to reconfigure the NHS, set up Resource Allocation Working Party, and the Black Inquiry into Health Inequalities. Internationally, he steered the development of health services in over 50 countries. He was a key WHO and EEC adviser, intimately involved in setting the agenda for global campaigns such as Health for All by the year 2000.

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Further reading