Family Policy, Social Welfare, and U.S. Government Structure

How do families support society?

Seen as building blocks for society, they contribute to raising caring citizens.Families are the most humane and economical way known for raising the next generation. Families financially support their members and care for those who cannot care for themselves: children, elderly, ill, disabled, etc.

What are five common characteristics when citizens engage?

1. When an opportunity arises at an opportune moment

2. When societal issues have personal meaning

3. When they have the skills to respond

4. When they believe they can be politically effective

5. When intensley dissatisfied with institutions and authorities

Why has defining family policy been so difficult?

It is hard to find a clear cut definition of family and what defines a family.Families in America are changing all the time, and everyone has different definitions on what makes a family. It is hard to define family policy because not everyone is going to agree and there will always be different opinions.

If a policy is defined as a family policy, what ends should it target?

A policy defined as family policy should target the five main functions and responsibilities of families.

Family formation and membership,

partner relationships,

economic support, childrearing,

caregiving.

Family formation and memberships

childbirth, marriage, divorce, adoption, foster care, inheritance

Partner relationships

Families are a fundamental influence on an individual's ability to form and maintain stable committed relationships. Government can support this with policies regarding marriage, relationship education, benefit eligibility, tax incentives

Economic support

Families provide economic support to meet their dependents basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. The government supports this through food, income, and housing supplements

Childrearing

families raise the next generation and are responsible for education, well-being, safety, and health. Government sets minimum standards for parents and intervenes when they are not met

Caregiving

Families provide protective care across lifespan, not required to do so. Government provides supplements for families not able to or willing to do so.

What is a "low-information voter"

A low-information voter is someone who sees being corrected and called wrong disrespectful and refuses to acknowledge other points of view and perspectives as valid.

What is the nature of the relationship between citizen illiteracy, especially on policy related matters, and contempt for experts and expertise?

citizen illiteracy on policy matters and having contempt for experts is based on people's egos and refusal to educate themselves on other perspectives. Experts in policy making must educate themselves on every perspective and point of view when it comes to policy making and I feel like citizens often refuse to even acknowledge other perspectives and opinions because they are so set in their ways.

What are the dangers when citizens are not only functionally illiterate about policy and social issues, but willfully or gleefully so? Why is "common sense" not enough when dealing with complex policy matters?

The dangers of citizens being functionally illiterate about policy and social issues is when they are voting. A lot of people do not actually do research on what they are voting for and just look at headlines or only get their information from one source that could potentially be biased. Common sense is not enough when dealing with complex policy matters because what makes sense to one person might not to another, everyone has different opinions on policy matters so you need to do research on what is actually happening and what could result from the policies being made

What are the five dominant forces responsible for the marginalization of families in policymaking?

1. political skepticism about the role of government in family life

2. rapid demographic changes that have occurred within contemporary families

3. social economic, and racial inequalities across contemporary families

4. cultural tension between individual rights and family responsibilities

5. inadequate preparation of professionals to engage in evidence based policy making

What are the five key reasons that family policy should be a subfield of social policy?

1. fundamental for generating productive workers.

2. raising of caring committed citizens

3. effective means for achieving policy and program goals

4. efficient means for carrying out policy and program goals

5. families are a normative ideal that benefits policymaking by fostering political consensus and the finding of common ground

1. fundamental for generating productive workers.

2. raising of caring committed citizens

3. effective means for achieving policy and program goals

4. Efficient means for carrying out Policy and program goals

5. Families are a normative ideal that benefits policymaking by fostering political consensus and the finding of common ground.

List and describe/discuss the major institutions or entities, public and private, through which social welfare is delivered in American society.

Family and Kin, faith based organizations, employers and workplace, marketplace, charitable ad philanthropic organizations, government

Family and Kin

raising children andsupporting family with disabilities or illness, financial independce from realtives.

Faith Based Orginizations

emergency relief and community programming like daycare, addiction groups, soup kitchens, and food drives

Employers and workplace

fringe benefits, retirement fund through things like a 401k, paid leave, and disability insurance

Marketplace

commercial services and private protection for counseling, healthcare, insurance, and long term care plans

Charitable and philanthropic orginizations

Non profit agencies like youth orginizations, homeless shelters, domestic violence centers, and charaties.

Government

Runs social security, health and human services, stae and local welfare agencies. SNAP

What core principles are the foundation of social welfare in American society?

Individualism, independence, privacy

Policy

a plan or course of action carried out through a law, rule, code, or other mechanism in the public or private sectors

Family Policy

Any policy that directly affects family outcomes, such as the various responsibilities and functions that families perform for the well-being of their members and society, including (a) family formation,

(b) partner relationships,

(c) economic support,

(d) childrearing,

(e) caregiving.

Public Policy

The process used to develop policies in the public sector, "identifiable course of action hammered out in the political arena to maximize the satisfaction of relevant interest groups in society and to improve the general welfare"

Social Welfare

direct expenditures made by government on public goods and services

Social Policy

attempts to improve the quality of life for individuals in domains such as crime, education, health, housing, and welfare. In policy circles, "social issues" are those that policymakers find are the most contentious and partisan.

Politics

Everything people do when they live in community and work through disagreements toward a common purpose for the way society develops.

Executive Branch

- includes the president, vice president, federal agencies, cabinet

President: head of the branch and serves as commander in chief, appoints federal judges, supreme court justices, negotiates treated, makes executive orders, and signs r vetos legislation from congress

Vice President: be ready to take on the role of the president at any moment, and votes when the senate is stuck in a 50-50 tie

Cabinet: the heads of 15 different departments (department of defense, treasure etc) advise the president

Federal agencies: responsible for day to day enforcement

Legislative Branch

makes up congress and the main job is to write and pass federal laws. Congress consists of the senate and the house of representatives. The senate has 100 members total two for each state in the country, and the house of representatives has 435 voting members based on the populations of each state. Larger states have more seats in the house of representatives because they have a bigger population. The vice president is the president of the senate and makes the deciding vote in a tie. In order for a bill to pass through congress and get signed into law by the president it must pass by majority vote in both the house and senate. If the president vetoes the bill they can override it by passing it again in each chamber with ⅔ of each body voting in favor. Congress also has the right to declare war, confirm or reject presidential appointments, ratify treaties, and handle impeachment cases. The house has exclusive powers such as initiating revenue bills (tax and spending), impeach federal officers, and elect president in case of tie in the electoral college.

Judicial branch

consists of the supreme court and lower federal courts including the district courts and courts of appeal. The judicial branch is in charge of interpreting laws, applying them to specific cases, and determines if they are constitutional or not. The judicial branch can check the other branches by declaring if laws are constitutional or not. The supreme court has 9 judges that are appointed for life. The judicial branch carries out judicial review to declare if laws are constitutional or not. Judicial branch members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate.

What are the stages of the policy process and what happens in each stage

1. Problem identification and agenda setting

2.Formulation and adoption

3. Implementation

4. evaluation

Problem Identification and agenda setting

This step invlves identifying aproblem that needs work on, definfing what the problem is and why it needs works on.

Formulation and Adoption

The development of effective, acceptable courses of action based on values, public opinion, research, and evaluating if it is sound and politically acceptable. Adoption is the final decision made by the policmakers if it gets approved or not.

Implementation

Putting the policy inplace, enforcing it, and developing rules and regulations for how to carry out the program.

Evaluation

The assessment of the policy, the outcomes, effectivness, and impacts of the policy