What specific policies and programs have helped (or attempted to) facilitate changes?

Task: This
assignment asks you to read The Jungle by
Upton Sinclair and write about social welfare programs and policies that have
evolved since the early 1900s.

Purpose: The purpose of this
assignment is for you to describe the policies and programs that would have
been helpful for new immigrant families had these programs existed at the time
of the story. In other words, this book
provides you with a fictional basis to discuss social welfare institutions,
programs, policies, and services that have developed or been refined in
response to various social needs.

Details:
This paper is worth 20% of your final course grade. This is a high-stakes writing assignment and,
as such, should be written in a professional tone in APA style. You should begin with an introduction
explaining the purpose and structure of your paper and conclude with a
paragraph summarizing the main points.
In the body of the paper, section headers are a great way to keep
similar content together. Edit for
spelling, grammar, and clarity.

Assignment 2 is a paper of
approximately 12 pages based on but, very importantly, building on The Jungle. As with the first assignment, for this paper,
I do not want a mere summary of the
book. You will be analyzing the evolution
of social welfare policies and program from a social work perspective.

Address the following:

Based on the problems identified in Assignment 1, describe at
least 5 policy or programmatic responses that have evolved since the early
1900s. What specific policies and
programs have helped (or attempted to) facilitate changes? Your descriptions should include answers
to questions like the following: When did these programs begin? Why?
What social welfare problems were the programs designed to
address? What did the programs
actually do? Who was eligible? How exactly would these programs have
helped the family? Use Barusch and Trattner plus other
sources as references to describe what has changed.

For each program or policy:
In 1-2 sentences, explain the
problems the family had and identify the policy or program that could have
helped.
Write 1-2 paragraphs tracing
the history of that policy/program development.
When did the policy/program begin?
Why did it have enough support then?
What came before that?
How has it changed over time?

Write 1-2 paragraphs explaining
how it works now.
Who’s eligible/covered? What do they get? How do they get the befit? How is the program funded?

Write 1 paragraph applying
the policy/program to the family’s needs.
Show how exactly the policy/program would have helped the family. This shows that you understand how the
policy/program actually works.

In addition to Barusch and
Trattner, which are essential sources for this paper, use at least 1-2 other sources for current data on
the number of people covered, how the policy/program functions today, recent
debates, etc.

What have been common trends, themes, and/or barriers in policy
development reflected in these policies and programs? Describe how these trends, themes,
and/or barriers have influenced the evolution of social welfare policy in
the United States.

Possible trends, themes, and
barriers to address include:
purposes of policy: social control, social inclusion, social
justice, maintain status quo
responses to demographic, industrial, and technological changes
responsibility of government versus private sector
changes in perceptions of poverty
changes in ideas of who is worthy
the value of work
rugged individualism
laissez-faire approach
large versus small government; local versus federal involvement
attitudes towards immigrants (including residency and citizenship requirements)
attitudes towards women (including as unwed mothers, workers,
dependent)
systemic racism, oppression or efforts to advance racial justice
the role of capitalism and approach to business owners, especially
as compared to wage earning employees
programs start in the private sector and/or at the local level and
gather momentum for federal involvement
the government implements regulations for their employees and
contractors before mandating the same for private companies
expansion of coverage; more people eligible for benefits
devolution
change and backlash
visible events creating demand for action; public outcry leading
to policy change
the U.S.’s residual approach to social welfare

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