Topics in Social Justice and Social Welfare Policy

The 19th and early 20th centuries are filled with fascinating people and events that helped to shape the development of social work thought and practice. This module provides information on Dorothea Dix (mental health advocacy), living & work conditions of the time, the Orphan Trains, Hull House & The Settlement Home Movement, the early years of the Children’s Bureau, and how the Great Migration changed the landscape of the 20th century. It concludes by connecting this history to contemporary events and social justice challenges.

• The Indefatigable Dorothea Dix [video/ 5:30 min]

• Explaining the Exceptional U.S. Social Welfare System [video/ 4:30 min]

• The Bad Old Days: Life in the 19th & Early 20th Centuries [video/ 6 min]

• Riding on the Orphan Trains [video/ 11 min]

• Hull House & The Settlement Home Movement [video/ 6 min]

• Saving Babies: The Early Days of the Children’s Bureau [video/ 7 min]

• The Great Migration [video/ 5:30 min]

• Black Groundbreakers in Social Work [graphic]

• The Great Depression and the Social Security Act of 1935 [graphic]

• Conclusion: Living in History’s Echo [video/ 3 min]

The United States is one of the only wealthy, industrialized nations that does not provide access to health care for all its citizens, yet attempts to reform the system and expand access have historically met with bitter opposition. This module provides a tongue-in-cheek look at efforts to repeal the ACA, a unique glossary of terms with graphic art, an extensive timeline of the evolution of health care in America, and information about the Medicaid program.  

• Health Care in America: Timeline [moving graphic/ 17:00]

• Medicaid by the Numbers [pdf]

• Drawing the Line: The Opioid Epidemic in America [video/ 6:02]

• Liar, Liar Meets ACA Repeal [video/ 5:00 min]

• The Opioid Epidemic in the Covid Pandemic [graphic]

• Disparities in African American Health and Well-Being [graphic]

• Health Care Glossary with graphic art [pdf]

• Flashcards: Abbreviation and Simple Terms [with interactives]

Despite our wealth as a nation, hunger and food insecurity continue to be significant problems. This module provides information on the ways in which hunger and food insecurity are measured and defined, and information about two important anti-hunger programs: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program.

• Hunger & Food Insecurity [video/4:30 min]

• SNAP: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [video/ 4 min]

• Living on SNAP: The ‘Food Stamps’ Experiment [video/ 11:30 min]

• Something WIC This Way Comes [video/ 6 min]

• WIC Essentials [video/ 4:30 min]

• Strengths and Weaknesses of WIC [video/ 3:30 min]

• SNAP for Social Work Practice [pdf]

• Covid, Hunger and SNAP [graphic]

• Closing Thoughts [video/ 2 min]

• References

High rates of poverty – especially for children and ethnic minority populations – are a hallmark of U.S. society. This module provides information on the historical reach of poverty, ways in which poverty is measured, implications of poverty on health and well-being, the realities of living in poverty, myths associated with poverty and the behavior of low-income people and groups, comparative aspects of poverty, state and national poverty figures, expert opinion on poverty, and programs that help to mitigate the harshest features of poverty.

• Introduction to Poverty [video/ 5 min]

• Poverty Measures & Basic Needs [video/ 11 min]

• Poverty Myths: Exposed [video/ 9 min]

• More Than a Statistic: The Pain of Poverty [slideshow/ 5 min]

• You Be the Judge: A Basic Budget Exercise [video/ 15 min]

• Poverty in Comparative Perspective [video/ 14 min]

• Face-to-Face: Interview with Anti-Poverty Expert Dr. Mark Rank [video/ 19 min]

• Fighting Poverty: Programs That Work [video/ 8 min]

• The PULSE Survey and Poverty in the Pandemic [graphic]

• The CARES Act and Poverty Early in the Covid Pandemic [graphic]

• References [pdf]

The minimum wage was enacted during the Great Depression but remains popular to this day. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was enacted in the 1970s and enjoys bipartisan support. Though one provides a wage floor and the other needed tax credits, both programs are pillars of support for working families and individuals. This module provides information on the historical development of both policies, state and national features and functions, the importance, strengths, and limits of each policy, the intersection of each policy with the lived reality of low-income working households, and the overall impact each program has on rates of poverty.

• Frances Perkins: Unsung Heroine of the Minimum Wage [video/ 3:30 min]

• Minimum Wage Timeline [video/ 4:30 min]

• Putting the Minimum in Wages: Rates Across the Nation: 2021 [video/ 4 min]

• 2022: Changes in State and City Minumum Wage Rates [graphic]

• The Best of Times: The Minimum Wage in the 1960s [video/ 6 min]

• The EITC: Anti-Poverty Rock Star [video/ 3:30 min]

• How the EITC Works [video/ 5 min]

• A Tale of Two Popular Programs [video/ 3 min]

• The EITC Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic [graphic]

• References [pdf]