Speciality: Social work English language course Paper Exam Topic: “The relevance of the problems of social work at the present stage of development of American society”
Content-Plan:
1. History of social work in the USA………………………………………………………….3-7
A) What is about ?...........................................................................................................................3
B) History
development of social work in USA………………………………………………..3-5
C) The main
features of social work in the USA……………………………………………. ...5-7
2. Situation nowadays……………………………………………………………………...…8-11
А) The
issue of the protection of racial and ethnic minorities…………………….………………8
B) The problem of social inequality…….…………………………………………………………9
C) Racial
conflicts……………………………………………………..………………………….9
D) Lack of
social guarantees……………….……………………………………………………10
E) Problems in
education………………………………….…………………………………….10
F) Deterioration
of citizens' health…………………...………………………………………….10
G) The migration
problem……………………………………………………………………….10
I) Crime and
suicide………………….....................................................................................10-11
J) The general
anxiety of the nation…………………………….………………………………..11
3. Advantages or disadvantages……………………………………………………………12-16
A) Solving the
problem of preserving ethnic minorities……………………………………..12-13
B) Social
support programs for the population……………………………………………....13-15
С)
Fighting crime……………………………….……………………………………………15-16
4. Conclusions……………...……………………………………………………………………17
5. References……….……………………………………………………………………………18
1.
History of social work in the USA
А.
What is about?
Social work is a professional activity aimed at
helping people and social groups overcome personal and social difficulties
through support, protection, correction and social rehabilitation. It includes
assistance to single pensioners and the disabled, as well as assistance to
dysfunctional families with children, the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics,
and the mentally ill. The professional activity of social workers contributes
to social change, solving problems of human relationships; promotes the strengthening
of the ability to function in society and the liberation of people in order to
increase their level of well-being. Using theories of human behavior and social
systems, social work promotes the interaction of people with their environment.
The principles of human rights and social justice are the foundation of social
work.
Currently, social work deals with conflict resolution,
family problems, issues of domestic violence, the fight against drug addiction,
alcoholism, poverty, homelessness among young people, housing, youth employment
and many others.
B. History
development of social work in USA
The system of social work began to take shape at the
end of the 19th century. Then the first charitable organizations began to
appear in the USA, which became the Guild of Neighbors (settlers), established
in 1886 in New York and a charitable organization in Buffalo, created by the
type of Organized Charity Society in 1887. Both of these organizations were
created for practical assistance to the poor, and educated people from the
upper and middle strata of the population participated in their work.
Two major philanthropic social movements of the last
third had a formative influence on the formation of the state system of social
protection of the population in the USA XIX – early XX century.: societies for
the organization of charity (OOB) and settlements. The OBS approached the issue
of organizing assistance to the needy from the positions of Protestant work
ethic, individualism and economic liberalism, which are traditional for the
American middle class. The approach of the participants of the settlement
movement had a clear socialist bias and implied the need for social reform aimed
at strengthening the redistributive functions of the state. Representatives of
both movements justified the advantage of their vision of helping those in need
with theoretical, moral and philosophical arguments
Charitable activity was especially attractive for
young women who saw in social work an opportunity to improve their social
status and gain economic independence. For example, Mary Richmond worked in the
Baltimore Society of Organized Charity, who put education at the forefront when
addressing issues of improving charitable work. At the same time, she
identified two areas: educational work (publication of articles, establishment
of periodical press bodies, public speeches, seminars, meetings with the
public, students and students) and training and
professional
training of charity specialists. In 1898, a School of Applied Philanthropy was
opened in New York.
The history of social work in the United States
demonstrates the increasing role of both public and private agencies. There are
three periods of development of social work in the USA/
I
period: 1900-1930,
when social assistance operated at the level of local governments, state
governments and local private institutions organized under the auspices of the
Public Foundation. The power in matters of social policy usually belonged to
the state governments, and the federal government had nothing to do with these
numerous power functions.
II
period: 1930-1968,
when the Federal Government took important initiatives in the field of social
security.
During this period, the role of the federal Government
in social security has significantly increased. The most important innovation
was the creation of a social insurance system of state aid funded by the
federal Government, and the adoption of federal laws regulating working
conditions (guaranteeing minimum wages and limiting working hours) and
relations between workers and the administration.
Income support programs had two directions — social
insurance and financial assistance. Social insurance was offered as a
substitute for charity, in 1930.
Since 1935, in the United States, the Law on Social
Insurance has established two types of insurance — old—age pensions and
unemployment benefits, measures to help some categories of the poor (primarily
the disabled and orphans), and over time - pensions for the loss of a
breadwinner, disability benefits (not related to work injuries), medical
insurance of persons at the age of 65 and older.
In 1948, the social legislation of the previous years
and the new course were called the course for building a "state of all
common welfare" – this term has become firmly in use. The policy was
presented in the plan of Beveridge, an English economist who believed that the
state should guarantee every citizen as a basic right a certain minimum of
economic security.
III
period: since 1968,
when the movement towards the "welfare state" was replaced by a
policy of conservatism.
From 1968-1990, the policy of "cooperative
federalism" operated in the United States, which stimulated the expansion
of the subsidy system and the regulatory apparatus, was replaced by "New
Federalism", first proposed by President Nixon. Reducing spending on the
social sphere – because it slows down development. Priority for federal funding
is given to military spending and ensuring economic growth through tax cuts.
In different periods of the development of social work
in the USA, new directions in social work appeared and developed. For example,
after the First World War, the so-called diagnostic direction in social work
arose in the United States, which was associated with Smith College in New
York, where social workers were trained to work in psychiatric services. The
need for them was very great, because there were many veterans of the First
World War experiencing various kinds of psychological problems. This direction
understood social work as
the treatment of
the client, as a change in his personality and assistance in his adaptation to
the environment.
In the 1930s, the so-called functional direction in
social work emerged in Pennsylvania, which emphasized the partnership between
the social worker and the ward, the rejection of formal and authoritarian
relationships. This direction considered social work not as a treatment, but as
a service. It can be said that it was then that the modern model of interaction
between a social work specialist and a client began to appear, which is still
used in social work today.
С. The main features of social work in the USA
A distinctive feature of social work in the USA is its
decentralization. There are various social programs in the country both at the
state level, at the state level, and at the level of a single city.
Conditionally, social work in the United States is divided:
– "by the fields of activity of a social worker
(in enterprises, offices, schools, centers, agencies, hospitals, hospitals,
military units, churches, prisons, etc. institutions);
– on the client's problems (resolution of conflict
situations, difficulties, problems both at work and in the family);
– by categories of clients (elderly and disabled,
children, foster families, homeless children, single-parent families,
etc.)".
Social work in the USA is constantly expanding. A
special place in the American social work system is occupied by solving the
problems of racial and ethnic minorities. In this regard, the so-called
"dual approach" has recently been implemented. It presupposes the
adaptation of common values, views and behavioral characteristics of people to
the ethnic characteristics of certain racial and ethnic minorities.
The advantages of the American social work system are
that it allows you to fully and promptly implement the social needs of people
in almost every region of the country.
Social insurance and State assistance are the main
forms of the State social security system. The main difference between them is
the different sources of funding. Insurance funds are formed at the expense of
taxes from workers, entrepreneurs and persons of liberal professions, and state
assistance – at the expense of allocations from the state budget, state and
local government budgets. The state insurance system in the country is
supplemented by private insurance systems that have two forms – collective and
workplace. In addition "additional payments are widespread: payment of
vacations and sick leave, additional unemployment benefits, subsidies for continuing
education and legal services.
As for assistance to the poor, it has been widespread
in the country since the 60s of twentieth century and is aimed at providing a
guaranteed income, supporting families with children, the elderly, the
disabled, large or single-parent families (where the head of the family is a
woman or unemployed) in need of food, housing and medical care.
The state-guaranteed income in the United States
corresponds to the "poverty line". It is systematically adjusted to
take into account the level of inflation and can be increased at the expense of
state budget funds.
Food aid is provided mainly by providing food stamps
to those in need. They are received by individuals or families whose income
does not exceed 125% of the income of the "poverty line". Coupons are
provided to them free of charge or at discounted prices. Other forms of food
aid — school breakfasts, assistance to mothers with children under 1 year, etc.
Housing subsidies in the United States are provided to
low-income families, and their amount is on average $2,000 per year per family.
As in a number of other countries, in the USA,
assistance to the elderly is practiced in a home environment, which does not
exclude their placement in a hospital. In recent years, such new forms of care
in boarding schools as day hospitals, periodic courses of wellness treatment, a
combination of inpatient care with dispensary care, etc. have become widely
practiced.
Special attention is paid to housing and household
services for the elderly and disabled. And this is quite understandable.
According to research by American scientists, about a quarter of the 30 million
Americans aged 65 and older are infirm. Home delivery of lunches, bathing in
the bath, washing, haircut, laundry, linen change, transportation services,
gymnastics with the help of an instructor, repair and improvement of
apartments, organization of cultural events and leisure, etc. are practiced. In
addition, a large adaptation training is provided for the disabled (training in
the use of various technical and other means, the arrangement of apartments
with special devices, the creation of certain conditions for the use of
transport, the provision of transport services, etc.).
According to American researchers, it consists in the
fact that older Americans (12% of the population) account for a third of all
national health care spending. At the same time, more than 30 million citizens
at a younger age do not have health insurance. Therefore, an attempt to further
increase spending on the older generation (and they are really needed) may
aggravate the generational conflict, which cannot be allowed.
There are a lot of interesting things in the country
in social work with children. Special institutions of social assistance to
children provide (for low-income families free of charge) the following
services:
- organization of special professional training groups
for parents;
- providing supervision of children of parents working
in the daytime and in the evening;
- creation of services for unmarried mothers at urban
health centers;
- creation and support of services for the protection
of children exposed to violence;
- creating and inspecting orphanages, working with
foster families, monitoring the
adaptation of a child in a new family;
- development of social services to help children get
an education, to help parents in household management.
Similar services are provided to other families, but
for a fee. In extreme situations, the services take care of children regardless
of the level of family income. The task of children's social services also
includes issues of adoption of orphaned children.
As in a number of other countries, in the United
States, social services for the mentally retarded are provided both in
psychiatric hospitals and boarding schools, and in specialized hospitals and
dispensaries, as well as outpatient. At the same time, special attention is
paid to work with underage minors.
In the USA, as in a number of other Western countries,
the following work is carried out with children who have fled from home and
homeless; shelters and dormitories are functioning; individual and group
consultations, conversations with parents are held with the aim of returning
the child to the family; assistance is provided to families reunited with
children, etc. There is also a helpline service in the USA that provides free
services for young fugitives.
Social work with adult offenders and adolescents of
the "risk group" in the USA is based on a number of programs: basic
police programs (they, in particular, provide for the functioning of police
sports clubs in order to attract minors to useful cases); basic programs of
juvenile courts (they provide mainly for the rehabilitation of these persons);
basic programs schools. The latter are divided into two groups: programs for
ordinary special schools designed for "difficult" and convicted teenagers.
The Youth Social Services Bureaus established in 1967
act as intermediaries and monitor the activities of service organizations in
order to meet the needs of minors. Some such bureaus (for example, in
California and other states) provide services themselves.
If we keep in mind social work with full families,
then we can note the widespread development of self-help groups and support
groups in the country, united in the organization "Parents without a
partner". It unites more than 210 thousand people, most of whom (65%) are
divorced women from the middle strata of society. Support groups at the level
of socio-territorial communities consist of 12-15 people. The main areas of
work of these groups are the exchange of pedagogical experience, assistance in
spending weekends and vacations, organization of legal assistance in solving
various life problems, etc.
In the USA, there is a huge experience of social work
by various categories of the population, but even here there are a considerable
number of acute social problems and issues that are relevant to this day.
2. Situation nowadays
А. The
issue of the protection of racial and ethnic minorities
One of
the important problems of American society remains the problem of social
protection of racial and ethnic minorities of the country. This includes people
at the lowest levels of social life, mainly black Americans, American Indians,
Alaska natives, Americans of Latin American and Asian descent. As noted at the
international conference (GASBU, February 1993), since the declaration of
independence, there has been systematic discrimination and exclusion, in
particular, of Blacks from the "pillar road" of economic life. The
conditions in which the majority of blacks live cause an increase in the
mortality rate among men, as well as infant and child mortality. Widespread
widowhood in most families with one female parent among blacks has been taking
place since 1880. By the 90s of this century, the share of families with single
mothers in this population group increased significantly — from 22% in 1960 to
44% in 1990. Of course, the number of families with single mothers also
increased among the white population, but their share is lower and is mainly
the result of a large number of divorces. The reason for raising children alone
by many black mothers is, as a rule, due to their illegitimate birth.
Poverty
and unemployment, which are most common in racial, ethnic and religious
minorities, have the most adverse effect on the structure of families, the
situation of children in these groups. The breakdown of families, the stress
caused by unemployment, give impetus to such negative phenomena as alcoholism,
mental disorders, suicide, flight, homelessness of children, teenage pregnancy,
prostitution, etc.
Practical work with ethnic minorities is based on the
concept of a "dual approach". Its essence lies, on the one hand, in
the conscious and systematic perception and study of values, attitudes and
behavioral characteristics inherent in a larger social structure, and on the
other, in their comparison with similar characteristics related to the client's
immediate family and community environment.
The practice of social work with ethnic groups in the
United States is based, firstly, on the values inherent in social work in
general, secondly, on an understanding of ethnic realities, thirdly, on a
professional approach, and fourthly, on practical experience. In other words,
these concepts imply the need to adapt the general foundations and methods of
social work to the ethnic realities of the country.
B. The problem of social inequality
The United States completes the list of developed
countries on the index of economic inequality. In 2015, for the first time in
the history of the States, the middle class was a minority, and for those who
decided to start their own business, it is minimal. The twenty richest people
in America own more than 152 million poor Americans. The average family has
about $16,000 in debt, and 41% of the population cannot pay medical bills.
Since the middle of the last century, the income of
wealthy families in America has grown by 90%, while the income of the poorest
segments of the population has increased by only 10%. Only 25% of billionaires
own $1 trillion in assets, which exceeds the total savings of more than half of
Americans (56%). The share of citizens receiving food stamps has increased. For
15% of Americans in 2014, coupons became the main factor of survival against
the background of total unemployment. In 2015, not a single person worked in
19% of families, although official data indicate 5% unemployment.
The poor in the United States are officially persons
whose annual income does not exceed the "poverty line". It is
determined based on the cost of goods and services necessary to meet the most
minimal living needs. The incomes of over a third of the poor in the United
States are less than 50 percent of the amount defined as the "poverty
line". The bulk of the poorest population in the United States is
currently women and children.
С. Racial conflicts
One of the most acute domestic political problems of
the United States, rooted in the deep past of the country, is the racial
problem. Racial conflicts have always existed in the United States — this
problem is still widespread today. In words, absolute equality is declared, but
in practice this is not observed, so the authorities are trying, if not to
eliminate, then at least to mask inequality. Human rights activists, for
example, demand to remove the indication of race from the reports, because
criminal news mainly features blacks and Latinos.
The persistent discrimination in hiring and firing is
evidenced by the persistent gap between white and colored Americans. Racial and
ethnic groups are subjected to systematic discrimination in wages, in
education, before Hispanic Americans, Indians and representatives of other
groups who have retained their native language as the main means of
communication in the family and within their ethnic group, the problem of
language discrimination is acute. The broad masses of Americans of color are
practically deprived of access to quality medical care. The result of the
struggle of racial and ethnic groups for their rights that has unfolded since
the second half of the 60s has been a significant expansion of their political
representation.
Sometimes the desire for equality is expressed in the
oppression of the white population. For example, in New York in 2014, an
educational program for gifted children was closed, because officials did not
think it was politically correct enough that mainly white children participated
in it.
D. Lack of social guarantees
A serious social problem in the USA is the lack of
guarantees for citizens at the federal level. There are no unified programs,
but there are many large and small forms of targeted support across states and
communities. These programs make it possible to partially compensate for the
lack of material resources to meet the minimum needs of the family. The
conditions for receiving social assistance are confirmed low income, absence of
one of the parents or unemployment.
E. Problems in education
The current education system in the United States is
aimed at serving the consumer society. For many Americans, the only way to get
a higher education is to participate in a loan program. Even universities that
are not among the top hundred educational institutions in the country are very
expensive, and education becomes an unbearable burden for young people
financially.
Education in the USA is one of the most expensive in
the world, but the overall level of education remains very low. A survey
conducted in 2015, for example, showed that the majority had not heard anything
about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
F. Deterioration of citizens' health
Medical insurance is very expensive, and it is
extremely difficult to get dental and general medical care without a card.
Filling one tooth, for example, costs from up to two hundred dollars, and more
complex treatment can cost several thousand. This is a serious problem of the
United States against the background of the general deterioration of the
nation's health. Obesity and mental disorders are common.
G. The migration problem
The problem of US development is migration. Against
the background of protests from ordinary citizens, the government is
increasingly thinking about the need to impose entry restrictions. This is
especially true for refugees from the Middle East and Muslim countries. In
contrast, there is an opinion that this is unacceptable for a free country, but
throughout almost the entire history of the States, migrants have been
repeatedly harassed.
What problems in the United States are constantly
covered in the media? This is the behavior of American police officers who, for
the sake of ensuring their own safety, are forced not to stand on ceremony with
people who have committed minor crimes. Minimal disobedience can lead to an
aggressive reaction, and a hint of possession of a weapon — fire to kill. Tear
gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and shot pads are used to suppress mass
protests. The United States leads in the number of cases of brutality by law
enforcement officials. American police officers shot almost a thousand people
in 2017.
I. Crime and suicide
The problems of the US economy are suicide and crime
against the background of economic and social ill—being, respectively. Crime is
mainly concentrated in the ghetto. In the southern states, the problem is the
concentration of a large number of Latinos, who are often in the country on
illegal grounds. Many of them do not speak English. There are 33 thousand gangs
in the country, which consist of almost 1.5 million people. It turns out that
one bandit accounts for about 230 people. That's the way things are, according
to official FBI data.
Suicides are common in the army, sodomy, sexual
promiscuity and drunkenness also flourish in the troops. 349 soldiers committed
suicide in 2012. Stress and depressive moods, financial and legal problems push
people to this step. Almost every day, one of the American soldiers takes his
own life. At the same time, fewer soldiers died in punitive operations in
Afghanistan in 2012 (about 300). For the sake of justice, it should be noted
that there are suicides in the armies of other countries of the world,
including in Russia. But in the Russian Federation there are much fewer of them
than in the States, and most suicides are committed by conscripts in
disadvantaged units.
J. The general anxiety of the nation
The problem of the USA is a significant general
anxiety of the population. Americans are actively buying up places in various
bomb shelters and bunkers, which are designed to protect against destruction by
economic, nuclear and biological weapons. Demand has increased after the
devastating tsunami in Japan and the war in Libya. It should be noted that most
bunkers will not protect Americans from the conditions of modern war.
3.
New approaches to social policy in the USA
A. Solving the problem of preserving ethnic minorities
National minorities in the United States include such
groups that have been persecuted and discriminated against, and are also
victims of prejudice. American Indians fall under these definitions, despite
the fact that historically they are "the only real Americans." The
population census in America over the past decades has clearly shown that an
important criterion for a person's belonging to a national minority and, in
fact, determining his ethnic identity is his self-identification, or
self-writing. In recent decades, the issue of self-identification has become
very relevant in the United States, especially for Native Americans, which is
explained by a number of changes that have occurred both in the ethno-cultural
policy of the state towards them and in their national identity. This allowed
researchers to christen the period that began in the second half of the XX
century, the "Great Awakening" (Great Awakening) and separately
highlight one of its directions, called the "Indian Renaissance"
(Indian Renaissance), directly related to the flourishing of national cultures
and literatures. At the same time, this phenomenon cannot be considered in
isolation from the growth of political activity of the aboriginal population.
Issues of protecting the rights and interests of
minorities in the United States have been dealt with relatively recently.
Several centuries earlier, most of these groups faced many difficulties,
including at the legislative level.
If in general everything is quite clear with the
definition of national minorities, then in particular with the definition of
"Indians" there are significant difficulties. In the scientific
world, the term "Native Americans", which appeared in the 1960s, is
more commonly used, although the Indians themselves more often call themselves
"American Indians" (American Indians, or Natives). The above terms
are largely generalizing, and in most cases, Native Americans, when speaking
about their ethnicity, indicate the tribe to which they belong, or several
tribes if mixed blood flows in their veins.
Currently,
American legislation provides equal rights for all its citizens, without
assigning any special rights to representatives of a particular ethnic group
(with the exception of Native Americans, who have some additional privileges
due to their special historical situation). Moreover, such consolidation of
group rights is considered as a violation of anti-discrimination norms. Despite
all the measures taken in this direction, ethnic cultures to this day continue
to be in the position of marginal, i.e. peripheral.
According to the 2000 census, 34% of Native Americans
live on reservations - lands with a special status. The first reservation
appeared even earlier than the USA itself - in 1638 on the territory of the
state of Connecticut for the Quinnipiac tribe, but officially the policy of
creating reservations began to be carried out since 1786. The government needed
not only to provide the Indians with territories for living and farming, but
also to try to avoid territorial conflicts and disputes over the boundaries of
these lands, as well as to find a more convenient way to control the indigenous
population. Most of the reservations appeared during the contractual period of
the American-Indian policy pursued from 1777 to 1871, when "tribes were
often persuaded or forced to cede most of their ancestral territories, leaving
a much smaller part behind them," but over time other ways of their
creation were outlined.
Currently, there are 278 federally recognized Indian
reservations in 32 states in the United States and about 25 full-time ones,
i.e. created by resolutions of individual states (see Appendix 3), while in
1908 there were only 161 of them. One tribe may have several reservations,
while another may not have them at all. A number of reservations exceed even
some states in size. The largest of them - the Navajo Reservation (17 million
acres, which corresponds to ~ 7 million hectares) - is located on the territory
of the modern states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
Despite the "cultural shock" experienced by
Native Americans in connection with their relocation to reservations, community
living helps them not only to support each other, but also to preserve their
traditions, culture, share experiences, passing all this on to subsequent
generations.
And yet, at present, the majority of Indians - 64% -
live in cities. First of all, for them, as well as for representatives of all
other ethnic minorities, a whole set of laws continues to operate, usually
combined under the name "positive actions" (or "positive
measures" - "affirmative action"). This is a political program
aimed at eliminating racial discrimination in employment and education. In
addition to federal laws, many states have additional laws designed to combat
discrimination. Of course, this has had a positive impact both on the
self-consciousness of the indigenous population of the United States and on the
ethno-cultural policy of the state towards it.
B. Social support programs for the population
The presence of vertical elevators, the stability of
democracy and the rule of law in modern American society — these opportunities
to achieve their personal (rather family) success still look attractive to
representatives of the social grassroots and immigrants from countries with
different levels of development who have received different (including very
good) education. But there is no denying the existence of a serious
contradiction between the level of economic development of the United States
and such deep inequality. In recent decades, the situation in this area has
changed dramatically, and according to a number of indicators, the level of
social inequality has again become the same as in the 1920s.
It seems that due to the need to support the reproduction
of the labor force of both parties (although in different ways), he was forced
to constantly solve the most acute social problems: to provide an opportunity
to buy his own housing for poor segments of the population and provide medical care to about 1/5 of the
population who themselves cannot buy insurance due to insufficient income. In
fairness, we note that such larger—scale social tasks began to be solved in the
United States precisely when the external threat from the Warsaw Bloc was
removed — in the early 1990s. It was quite logical to switch the country's free
resources from military purposes to social ones. The "peace dividend"
was also expressed in a reduction in military spending and taxes.
During the presidency of B. Clinton, programs were
launched to provide inexpensive, but own housing for those (lower) middle class
strata who, due to their financial situation, could not receive it in the usual
way. We will add expanding access to education and improving its quality. These
measures to correct the historically established discrimination of a part of
the population or the current inequality in the most visible social aspects had
enormous economic and socio-political consequences.
Recently, several preferential social programs have
been developed in the United States to support the population:
Medicare и
Medicaid. These terms
mean two programs aimed at providing medical care to the population. As you
know, the services of medical workers in the United States are quite expensive,
which makes them inaccessible to many citizens of the country. These programs
are designed to make them more accessible, compensating for some of the costs.
Their financing is carried out from the federal budget, and the main condition
for participation in them is insurance. The Medicare program is intended for US
citizens who have turned 65 and provides them with the possibility of
insurance.
The second part is intended to cover the costs of
visiting medical specialists, their services during outpatient treatment, as
well as to pay for the services of independent laboratories. Former President
of the United States Barack Obama significantly expanded the program, which
allowed its participants to compensate from 60 to 75% of the cost of medical
services.
SNAP и SSDI. Other popular government support programs in the United States are SNAP
and SSDI. The first abbreviation stands for the program of purchase of
preferential products, which allows unprotected categories of citizens to
purchase food.
The program is funded from the federal budget and
assumes that US citizens who have no income or are too low can receive special
cards. They contain an amount that can be spent exclusively on food at retail
outlets with a special mark "EBT".
Only a citizen whose monthly income does not exceed $
2,000 can count on such assistance, and the subsidy from the state will be
about $ 500, depending on the number of family members. It is important to take
into account that the funds on such "coupon cards" cannot be spent on
household chemicals and other goods, only on products.
SSDI is social insurance against disability. It is
designed to provide additional income for people with disabilities. Like many
other programs, SSD is funded from the federal budget and is the same for all
regions.
Subject to sufficient work experience and deductions
of funds in favor of this program, a citizen will be able to count on monthly
payments when receiving a disability. They are constantly indexed, and their
size directly depends on the length of service and the total amount of
deductions of the consumer. As a rule, the average monthly allowance for this
program is slightly more than $ 1,000.
Worker’s
compensation, SCCP и
HUD. The basis of the
US insurance system is compensation for occupational injuries, injuries and
disability during the performance of their official duties. The program works
in several directions at once and affects not only people affected at work, but
also their children.
Program participants can count on:
-
For
salary compensation for the duration of treatment and rehabilitation.
-
Payment
of medical bills.
-
Assistance
and assistance for returning to work.
-
Other
payments.
Thus, this program allows all working citizens of the
country to be confident in providing them with financial assistance in case of
emergency situations at work that have caused injury or disability of an
employee.
The SCCP seems to be a popular program for supporting
young parents, which guarantees subsidies for families with young children. But
it provides that its participants must have a small income below the poverty
level.
The SCCP program compensates for part of the costs of
kindergarten, and also provides assistance in the employment of parents in
positions with a higher salary. This makes it possible to improve the financial
situation of the family.
Another social program designed to help low-income
families is HUD, which is conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Development.
It is implemented at the federal level and allows people with a lower-than-average
income to obtain permanent residence.
The program is primarily aimed at US citizens who took
part in hostilities, as well as their immediate relatives. As part of the
program, the government is building economy-class housing, which low-income
families can afford to purchase or rent.
Private
foundation programs.
In addition to federal and regional measures to support the population, there
are many private foundations in the United States that allow improving the
living conditions of those in need. First of all, this is the Food pantry,
which is organized, most often, by religious organizations.
The program provides that citizens in need can receive
food packages at the church on a certain day of the week. Funding is provided
by donations from parishioners. Other programs of private charitable
organizations are implemented on a similar principle.
They allow you to get the necessary food, clothing, as
well as partially reimburse utility bills, which allows every US resident to
receive the necessary support in a difficult financial situation.
С. Fighting crime.
The countries of Western democracy have the richest
experience in the field of combating
crime, including organized crime, including the
practice of implementing a variety of recommendations of criminologists, the
features of this fight are related to the fact that it involves not only the
definition of the phenomenon of organized crime and its forms, the integration
of international and national systems specifically focused on the complex
counteraction of organized crime, but also the formation of strategies and
tactics of law enforcement agencies.
In this regard, the US experience in the fight against
organized crime is of particular interest. In the United States, the phenomenon
of organized crime began to be investigated at the beginning of the last
century, in particular, in 1931, the Wickersham Presidential Commission studied
American crime by order of President Hoover and in 1967 – the Commission for
the study of crime, created by President Johnson.
The most significant fact (turning point) in the fight
against organized crime was the adoption in the USA in 1970 RICO Law (Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) – the law on combating organized crime.
However, it took a considerable time for the provisions of this law to be
actively used by law enforcement agencies, which began around 1982.
The fight against organized crime in The USA is
considered as one of the most important (strategic) areas of activity of the
country's law enforcement agencies and is based on the development and
implementation of a system of special organizational, preventive and law
enforcement measures to control crime, understandable and widely known to the
population of the country. In turn, in the system of legal measures, an
important place is occupied by criminal law, criminal procedure, penal
enforcement, fiscal financial, operational investigative measures, a number of
which have no analogues in other countries. So, the goals and objectives of law
enforcement agencies in this direction are formulated in the "Strategy for
the Fight of Law Enforcement agencies against international organized Crime".
In January 2010, the United States Government
completed a comprehensive review of international organized crime and concluded
that over the past for 15 years, international organized crime has dramatically
expanded in size, scope and influence, posing a significant threat to national
and international security.
July 25, 2011 U.S. President B. Obama signed a decree
and a number of orders providing for the introduction of new sanctions against
international crime, as well as aimed at protecting the national security of
the United States. The main provisions of the "Strategy of Struggle"
were brought to the attention of the public combating transnational organized
crime"
The Strategy sets out 56 priority actions in key areas
that the United States intends to implement in order to reduce the impact of
transnational organized crime inside and outside the country, to reduce it from
a threat to national security to a manageable public security problem in the
United States and in strategic regions around the world. Among other things we
are talking about obtaining high-quality intelligence information, protecting
the financial system, improving the effectiveness of investigation and
prosecution, developing international cooperation, etc.
4. Conclusions
The development of social work in any country is
inextricably linked with numerous socio-economic and socio-political phenomena
taking place in this country. When society developed, it underwent significant
changes: social relations changed, new social institutions appeared, and at the
same time new social contradictions and problems appeared that required new
approaches to solving. This is exactly how the development of social work went.
In each country, the social sphere system has
developed differently. Here a lot depended on which social issues were most
relevant for a given country. Also important were the factors of the
socio-political structure of the country, its economic development, social
values, cultural characteristics. The social work system in the USA is one of
the oldest in the world, which began to take shape since the second half of the
19th century. From that moment to the present day, the country has experienced
many social changes and social crises. This simultaneously became a test for
the country and enriched the experience of solving many social problems, which
improved and developed the entire American social sphere system.
However, even a country with such a colossal
historical experience and huge opportunities has not been able to fully solve
many social problems that have plagued American society for many years: racial
conflicts, problems of social inequality, problems with migrants,
socio-economic instability and many others. Recently, the crisis of traditional
values has become a painful problem for the United States, which has recently
been subjected to a sharp revision, which cannot but cause misunderstanding of
fairly broad segments of the population, provoking new social contradictions.
Despite serious achievements in the social sphere, the
United States is far from being called an ideal state. The country is still
haunted and troubled by many "old diseases", as well as difficulties
and contradictions of the new time have been added. Therefore, the relevance of
solving social problems in the United States at the moment remains more
important than ever, and the field of professional social work has many tasks
to solve in order to bring the country closer to prosperity.
References
1) Fundamentals
of social work: textbook / Ed. P.D. Pavlenko. –M.: INFRA-M, 1997.
2) https://visasam.ru/emigration/canadausa/lgoty-v-ssha.html
3) © Semenkova
S.N. FOREIGN EXPERIENCE OF THE ORGANIZATION SOCIAL WORK//Tyumen Military
Institute of Engineering Troops, Tyumen
4) Avtonomov,
A.S. Some aspects of the legal status of Indians in the USA. //Actual problems
of American studies. Gorky, 1990. pp.220-227..
5) Brouchak, J.
The Renaissance of the Indian people. // National Geographic , Oct. 2004.
pp.94-113.
6) https://institutiones.com/general/2292-tri-socialno-ekonomicheskie-problemy.html
7) Addams J.
Twenty Years at Hull House with Autobiographical Notes. Boston,
1999. P. 90
8) Bauer S. V.
State Social Policy in the Armed Forces of the USA [Gosudarstvennaya sotsialnaya
politika v Vooruzhennyh Silah SShA]: Dis. ... cand. polit. sciences: 23.00.02. Moscow,
2002.
9) Zarplaty v
SShA (Salaries in the USA) Available at: http://www.qwester.ru/2011/10/zarplatyvssha/
(Date of access: 07.05.2017).
10) Posobie
po bezrabotitse v Soedinennyh Shtatah Ameriki (Unemployment benefit in the
United States of America) Available at:
http://www.anothercitizenship.com/pmzh/posobiepobezraboticevsoedinennyxshtataxameriki.html
(Date of access: 07.05.2017).
