Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program Essay Example for Free

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program Essay The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program was a direct response to overhaul the image of welfare programs. In 1996, it replaced such programs as Aid to Families with dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunity and Basic Skills training program (JOBS) and the Emergency Assistance Program (EA). The objective of TANF was to implement useful policies from the previous three programs and present an effective welfare plan based not only on needs but presentation of policies that involved job preparation and improving conditions for work and a stable marriage (About TANF). The goals of this program are further summarized including assistance to needed families so that the children can be cared for at homes, promotion of social opportunities, prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and encouraging the maintenance of two parent families. To achieve its objective, the US government adjusted the system to be administered through various State, territories and tribal agencies instead of a direct supervision by the Federal government. The primary reason for such a decision was to distribute the program funding in a more effective manner and hold each regulating body responsible for fulfilling the objectives of TANF. For this very purpose, the TANF Bureau was formed which comprises of five separate divisions including a Division of State TANF Policy dedicated to role out policies and guidance; Division of State and Territory TANF Management to provide technical assistance; Division of Data Collection Analysis that deals with the statistical analysis of the collected data; Division of Tribal TANF Management which deals with all aspects of tribal matters pertaining to the program and TANF Bureau Regional Program Units that provides technical and management links between the State and other administration blocks. Difference in Policies What differentiates this welfare program for its predecessors is the fact that TANF ends the open ended requirement of AFDC for automatic assistance but instead provides grants based on work requirements for a majority of recipients. It also initiates a time limit for the distribution of grant in order to stop the otherwise ineffective distribution and dependence on State’s funding. Under a unified umbrella of policies, TANF has implemented different policies to better answer the critics of welfare system by designing new rules for qualification and introducing time constraints to prevent future generation from such grants by helping them gain financial freedom. Almost every aspect of old system is challenged by proposing new policies for child care, legal immigrants, food stamp program and Supplementary Security Income. While TANF is not a perfect program but it will not be an oversimplification to state that the wide ranging implications of introducing new and useful policies are much better than the previous stand-alone program. Although, it should well be recognized that TANF is basically just another system of a perceived welfare State that is America but it definitely provides future policymakers a model for improvements in the existing TANF and related welfare programs. Benefits One of such benefits under TANF is eliminating homelessness for people who are in desperate need. It is important to note that most participants who used to get homelessness assistance in previous programs without restrictions are not eligible under TANF. For a person to take such assistance, TANF requires that the benefits allotted to a participant must be designed to deal with crisis situation and it must only be for four months. Such rules provide credence to the idea that the State funds will not be over utilized by mass and if work conditions improve for homeless people, they would be able to better equip themselves after four months. To critics, it must be evident that TANF do provides legislations where certain people are indeed eligible for long term ongoing assistance with the housing that can extend beyond five years but it too instructs participants to actively involve in work and assign their child support rights to the State. These provisions are in exclusion to the other basic requirements for TANF. There are numerous States and related agencies that have successfully implemented the homelessness program to allow their residents settle down. Almost half of the States are providing short term assistance to people needing short term rental assistance, support for a solution to eviction and utility shut off (Jennifer, 2001). These also include emergency housing shelters as well as temporary shelter. Looking objectively into such type of assistance we can draw conclusions that the State is supporting the idea of a true welfare State by not relying on using welfare money solely for homelessness but instead distribute grants to a variety of aspects that may not have a stigma of welfare related to them. Drawbacks On the contrary time limits and such constraints do provide sustenance to the cause of TANF but it is clear from several studies including the of Urban Institute that there is a constant need for regular upgrading of the program. According to the statistics, more than 50 percent of the participants who have received welfare in the past are now working in low income jobs without any benefits at all. Still more concerning are figures which indicates that most of the parents who received funding and were able to find work have now been laid of due to the economic recession and high unemployment rates. This act has resulted in their ineligibility to receive any more funding from the program for another five years (Temp Assistance). Therefore, the committee recommended that there should be a clean long term extension of the prevailing laws so that families in need of welfare should not only be depended on welfare but rather be able to support themselves in the long run. Official Public View of the success of TANF Some of the States such as District of Columbia are trying to establish a coherent program by involving public in its annual budget meetings. Such a meeting took place in March 2009, where members of the public provided their opinion on how to better administer the funds. From the public remarks, it seems that there is a wide held belief that any welfare should not just be a temporary relief but supplement the future of the participant. The director of Human Services which oversees the DC TANF program was of the view that their TANF program should bring the people in workforce and support them to be self sufficient before taking them off welfare (Greg). His remarks were coherent with the level of TANF assistance and funds didn’t rise with inflation which has made it difficult for the participants to support their children. The committee further states that the State budget didn’t take into account COLA which has resulted in less aid than actually perceived. Experts now believe that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act PWRORA that was introduced in 1996 is becoming a success but such a success can only be retained with constant evaluation and new policies (Turner J). In a testimony before congress in 2002, Jason Turner, responsible for domestic policy making at Heritage Foundation pointed out there was an urgent need to strengthen work requirements because the participants at that time were able to receive full funding without actively engaging in their quota of work. He insisted that the policies be made more stringent by requiring participants to come to work and cash be distributed based on the actual hours worked and not the perceived time. Furthermore, he provided evidence that the budget of TANF program can be reduced to 10 percent without disrupting all the useful funding. Such recommendations by public representatives is a clear indication of the theories as presented by social scientists who want to see a true Welfare State based on the principles of equality and opportunity. In a series of reports published by the Urban Institute, the authors proclaim that TANF’s emphasis on work has improved results for million of families but there is a need for a long term broader perspective on the issue. One such study extol the Program benefits only if Congress can reauthorize the implementation of the new policies that has made it difficult for some hard to serve groups to take full advantage of the program structure. It points out the fact that the most common employment barriers for individuals who stay on welfare or leave without work are poor health lack of recent work experience and access to higher education. The numbers provided were three years after PWRORA initiation but provided staggering figures constituting almost 35 to 50 percent of the program participants being affected (Loprest Zedelewski). Program Implementation It is a fact that various territories and tribes can not only participate in the program but are eligible to run it on their own management principles. While it is true, another report by Urban Institute submitted to the Department of Health and Human Service concluded that there were several factors which were feasible for the implementation of TANF in the tribal areas. Such factors included improvement of TANF objectives and outcomes, extension of tribal self determination, enhanced program coordination and improvement of reputation and image (Just Harvest Publications). On the other hand, it also concluded that costs, staffing problems, risk of new program and communication with State and Counties were barrier to the acceptance of such a program. The TANF is definitely a step towards realizing the goal of a true Welfare State where meaning of welfare is not imbedded in perceived images nor attributed to poor class. While it is true that there are shortcomings in the program but such limitations can adequately be addressed by constant debates, changes in policies and regular reauthorization of TANF. In his book, The Assault on Social Policy prominent social scientist William Roth describes a well balanced welfare program as the one that only provides a limited support thus promoting a desire to work (Roth, W: p. 64). In fact such a policy would have been appreciated by Michael Katz who was a fervent supporter of a welfare plan which doesn’t’ portray beneficiary as a recipient of welfare but instead someone who has the right to receive aid to support their families.

Essay on Conflict Resolution and Mediation to End School Violence

Use of Conflict Resolution and Mediation to End School Violence       Conflict and differences of opinion exist in every healthy organization. Americans need to try to take control of today's youth and the violence that is and has been developing in this country for many years.   Although violence will never be extinct, there are many different ways to reduce violence.   Each school and student population has different ways of dealing with and helping to curb the need for violence in schools.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most effective and most common method in dealing with violence in schools is conflict resolution.   It has been used in many different states and in several different formats to try to give the students, faculty, and parents an idea to what may help stop or prevent this violence and other problems from happening.   According to the Texas Youth Commission, there are ten main reasons for instituting a school-based conflict resolution/mediation program.   They are as follows: * Conflict is a natural human state that becomes more prevalent during personal growth. * A more effective system is needed to deal with conflict in the school than expulsion or court intervention. * The use of mediation to resolve school-based problems can result in improved communication between and among student, teachers, and parents. * Mediation training assists in preparing students to live in a multicultural world. * Shifting responsibility for solving conflicts from teachers to young adults will free teachers to focus on teaching. * Mediation provides a system of problem solving that is uniquely suited to the personal nature of young people's problems. * Mediation training increases students' interest in con... ...vary by ethnicity, family income, or geographic location" (Factors, 2).      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is obvious that the use of conflict resolution and mediation is essential in our school systems.   Not only does it provide a safer way to talk out the problems between students; it also gives us a mean to handle the problem of violence in our schools more safely.    Works Cited Harberg Consulting Group. Conflict Resolution. [Online].  Ã‚   Available: http://www.hcgnet.com/html/conflictresolution.htm (November 20, 1998) Author Unknown. Factors Contributing To School Violence. [Online].Available: http://ericweb.tc.columbia.edu/monographs/uds107/prerentingfactors.html (September 21, 1998) Author Unknown. Ten Reasons for Instituting A School-Based Mediation Program. [Online]. Available: http://www.tyc.state.tx.us/prevention/medprog.html. (November 20, 1998).

Grapes of Wrath: Book and Film Comparison Essay

John Steinbeck was an American author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and numerous short stories. Steinbeck is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men. Born in Salinas, California in 1902, Steinbeck spent most of his life in Monterey County, the setting of much of his fiction such as the novel Cannery Row, a novel depicting the canning Co in Monterey at the time. He attended Stanford University between 1920-1926. Steinbeck did not graduate from Stanford, but instead chose to support himself through manual labor while writing. Being part of the labor force during this time greatly influence many of his novels. Steinbeck’s first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929, and was followed by The Pastures of Heaven and, in 1933, To a God Unknown. Steinbeck married Carol Henning in 1930 and lived with her in Pacific Grove, California. He spent much of his time in Mont erey. Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962, and died in New York City in 1968. The Grapes of Wrath, is written by Steinbeck and published in 1939. Steinbeck does an excellent job in this novel by capturing a significant event in history, the Dust Bowl, which displaced millions of Americans. The agricultural industry changes and bank foreclosures forced tenant farmers of the land they’ve live on for generations as depicted in the novel with the Joad Family. As the novel opens, Tom has returned home after serving a jail sentence. The Dust Bowl has decimated the region; foreclosures have forced the farmers off the land. Tom and the a retired preacher Jim Casy decide to accompany Tom’s family to the promise land of California where work is plentiful and wages are high. Things however are not the way they’ve been told. The constant inflow of displace tenant farmers has dramatically increased the demand for work while also deflating wages. Upon arrival, the Joad family are purposefully made to feel unwelcome. Desperate for work, they submit themselves to the abuse from the Californian employers. The Grapes of Wrath exhibits several American themes such as of hard work and self-determination. This realist novel is really the first literature to shed light on life during the Dust Bowl. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In 1940, a film adaptation is made.  Its directed by John Ford. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F. Zanuck. This film is loosely based on the movie with countless differences, including an entirely different ending. As the film progresses, it veers further and further away from staying true to the novel. Overall the film brought an interesting interpretation to the novel and even introduced some of its own ideas and themes. The movie won Oscars for best director and best actress (Jane Darwell as Ma Joad) and was nominated for five others, including best actor for Henry Fonda and best picture. The book and film of Grapes of Wrath contrast in numerous ways. Since that book is so long, dozens of scenes have been excluded from the film so that it keeps the audience’s attention. The film excludes all of the inner chapters, short stories that depict what it was like during the great depression. Some inner chapters are merely stories that represent something much bigger. The lack of inner chapters removes Steinbeck’s political references to events occurring during the time. Both book and movie fulfill the title’s symbol. At first the grapes represent promise: the fertile valleys of California, but then, they represent the wrath of the migrants as they realize that they have been lured unjustly to the West. Survival now becomes a challenge. One thing that the film did that the novel didn’t is it used flashbacks as scene in the scene where Muley Graves is explaining to Tommy and the Reverend how him and his family helplessly watch their house destroyed by a tractor. This is displayed in an obvious manner when looking at the John Ford’s movie made for the classic book The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck. Although both texts follow a similar story line, a stronger rhetorical message is delivered to the audience in the book compared to the movie. Both the book and the movie portray parallel themes, however, specific illustrations in the book both strengthen and sensitize the meaning derived from the text, making it easier for the audience to fully grasp the emotion of the story. These specific illustrations found in the book include the diction used in dialogue, the apparent division between the rich and the poor, the importance of unification as a family, and the benefits of being resilient. While these ideas are touched upon in the movie, they are included in a more passive fashion, taking away from the dominance of the  message.

List of European Languages Spoken in the EU

The continent of Europe is made up of 45 different countries and covers an area of 3,930,000 square miles (10,180,000 sq km). As such, it is a highly diverse place with many different cuisines, cultures, and languages. The European Union (EU) alone has 27 different member states and there are 23 official languages spoken in it. Official Languages of the European Union To be an official language of the European Union, the language must be both an official and a working language within a member state. For example, French is the official language in France, which is a member state of the European Union, and thus it is also an official language of the EU. By contrast, there are many minority languages spoken by groups in countries throughout the EU. While these minority languages are important to those groups, they are not official and working languages of the governments of those countries; thus, they are not official languages of the EU. A List of the EUs Official Languages The following is a list of the 23 official languages of the EU arranged in alphabetical order: 1) Bulgarian2) Czech3) Danish4) Dutch5) English6) Estonian7) Finnish8) French9) German10) Greek11) Hungarian12) Irish13) Italian14) Latvian15) Lithuanian16) Maltese17) Polish18) Portuguese19) Romanian20) Slovak21) Slovene22) Spanish23) Swedish ReferencesEuropean Commission Multilingualism. (24 November 2010). European Commission - EU Languages and Language Policy.Wikipedia.org. (29 December 2010). Europe - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EuropeWikipedia.org. (8 December 2010). Languages of Europe - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe