Social Policy and the Family

Paper Summary:

The history of governmental economic assistance to families in America is a relatively short one. From the colonial era through the nineteenth century, family and government were seen as two entirely separate entities and any economic assistance that a family might receive would have to come from private organizations. The paper shows that the Great Depression of 1929, however, forever changed the relationship between the family and the government. As part of the "New Deal", the federal government greatly expanded its role in providing economic assistance to those left behind by the labor market. The paper traces the history of economic assistance as a social policy until the present day.

From the Paper:

"The fact that a Democratic president signed the Republican-written PRWORA into law may seem odd when you consider the traditional terms of the liberal-conservative welfare debate. The PRWORA was quite different from the welfare reform proposals Clinton had proposed in 1992 but never pushed through Congress. While Clinton's plan would have put time limits on receiving benefits, his program would not have ended AFDC's status as an entitlement, and would have provided mothers who reached the end of the five-year payment limit with government service jobs (Cherlin, 183) - something the Republican-sponsored PRWORA in 1996 was not to include."

More papers on Social Policy and the Family:

• Term Paper # 147331 : "Social Policy and Comparative Studies"
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• Term Paper # 127469 : "Media Representations of the Family"

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