how welfare works
social welfare systems assist individuals and families through health care food assistance unemployment compensation housing assistance and child care assistance a caseworker is assigned to each individual or family applying for housing benefits in the u s to determine and confirm the applicant s needs 4the benefits available to an individual vary by state eligibility is determined based on factors surrounding the person s financial status and its relation to the minimum acceptable levels within a particular state the factors involved can include the family unit s size current income levels or an assessed disability 5social welfare systems may go by different names within each state but they often serve similar functions this can cause some confusion when attempting to compare one state s program to another the requirements to qualify also vary depending on the poverty line in a particular state this allows for adjustments based on the cost of living that isn t centered on one standard an individual who is on welfare is usually provided with free or deeply discounted goods and services the government requires that individuals or families seeking assistance must prove that their annual income falls below the federal poverty level fpl the fpl is an economic measure of income used to determine whether an individual or family qualifies for certain subsidies or aid the 2024 poverty guideline is 15 060 for one person and 31 200 for a family of four 6there s no standardized system for the administration of social welfare programs they vary by state they re listed under varying names and have different requirements to qualify special considerationswelfare programs are initiatives set up by the government to support poor developmentally challenged and disadvantaged groups the u s provides a relatively small social safety net compared to other developed countries and has fewer welfare programs available and with greater restrictions the history of welfare programs in the united states is complex and controversial in some circles of politics former president lyndon johnson created programs like head start food stamps and medicare in the 1960s 78 all these programs were designed to fight what he called the war on poverty in america former president richard nixon was responsible for spearheading the family assistance plan 9fast forward to the 1980s former president ronald reagan slashed welfare budget programs designed to help families and created welfare to work programs that were instituted in 40 states welfare reform legislation focused on shifting responsibility to welfare participants and advocating work over general assistance in 1996 10 welfare reform and assistance programs continue to expand and change under president joe biden s leadership in the 21st century 11america provides seven major welfare programs they include the u s federal government doesn t give out grants to individuals or families in need it s a scam if someone offers to help you get one do not give that individual any personal information 12types of u s welfare programsmedicaid is a health insurance program for people with income below federal poverty standards and aging adults pregnant women children people with disabilities and aging adults who fall below a certain income threshold are guaranteed coverage under the medicaid program medicaid is only offered to those who meet a specific low income threshold children don t qualify for medicaid but they have their own special welfare assistance program called the child s health insurance program chip data found that both chip and medicaid increased under the affordable care act aca when it went into effect 13supplemental security income is administered by the social security administration ssa and provides public assistance to children and adults living with disabilities these can include blindness neurological challenges respiratory disease and failure to thrive the full list of disabilities that qualify can be found on the ssa s website 14about 7 6 million people receive approximately 622 in disability income in the form of ssi each month according to statistics from the ssa 15the supplemental nutrition assistance program previously known as the food stamp program is run by each state it provides vouchers to low income households to buy nutritious and low cost foods millions of americans use snap vouchers every year to buy food for their households 16the special supplemental food program for women infants and children wic and the child nutrition program are two other programs designed to help children and families wic s offering includes nearly everything a mother and young child need to thrive up until the age of five 17 wic s services include food educational classes and support vouchers and health referrals for pregnancy breastfeeding and postpartum services the child nutrition program is an umbrella that shelters the national school lunch program the school breakfast program and the summer food service program all these programs are designed to ensure that kids get free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch when school is in session and when it s closed for the summer 18according to the pew research center 41 9 million people in 22 2 million households benefited from snap vouchers in april 2023 19the child s health insurance program is administered by the u s department of health and human services hhs it provides low cost health care to children in households that won t otherwise qualify for medicaid this program covers all benefits for children including dental care special needs assistance such as physical speech and language and occupational therapy provide a strong safety net for children in low income homes 20the u s government provides welfare assistance through temporary assistance to needy families congress created the program to prevent recipients from abusing the welfare program by mandating that all recipients find a job within two years or risk losing their welfare benefits the government provides an annual welfare grant of 16 5 billion to all states under this program 21 the states use their allocated funds to operate their own welfare programs states must also use some of their own money to fund their programs to receive the federal grant the housing choice voucher program is a federal program designed to help families with income below federal poverty standards people with disabilities and aging adults so they have access to affordable and livable rental homes in safe neighborhoods in the private market livable means clean sanitary and safe these vouchers are given out by local public housing agencies that receive funding from the federally run u s department of housing and urban development hud office individuals and families who qualify for vouchers may live anywhere they re not limited to subsidized housing projects but can be used in any residential neighborhood that meets pha s health and safety requirements voucher recipients must find their own housing under this program the housing subsidy is directly paid to the landlord of the rental by the pha the family or individual is responsible for paying the difference between the market price of the rent and the amount subsidized by the voucher program out of pocket a family could use vouchers to purchase a modest home in an affordable neighborhood in rare circumstances and under specific requirements the transaction would have to be authorized by the pha however 22the eitc is designed to help low to moderate income individuals and families get a tax break the maximum tax credit for 2024 for qualifying taxpayers is 7 830 23 the phaseout amount for married couples filing jointly in 2024 is 66 819 24entitlements are social or economic programs promised by the government to all its citizens unlike welfare they don t typically have certain criteria or qualifications attached to them social security income and medicare are federal entitlement programs offered to older americans regardless of their income or wealth although the amounts of the entitlement may be affected by these factors who qualifies for welfaregovernment welfare is primarily aimed at people with little to no income as well as aging adults and those with disabilities welfare can include grants food stamps vouchers medicaid health care and housing assistance the subsidized program is only available to legal citizens and permanent residents of the united states federal law bans states from using grants to assist most legal immigrants unless they ve resided in the country for five years or more 25a valid social security number ssn is required to apply for welfare all family members must have an ssn in households with more than one person individuals who are applying for welfare must also meet their states requirements in addition to those imposed by the federal government some states require that the applicant be a resident of that state to live there continuously 2526people s desired outcomes on welfare will depend primarily on the circumstances that caused them to apply for aid 