Importance of Global Perspective for Social Welfare

Knowledge of the social welfare and the global system is an important requisite for any person who is involved in the social welfare sector (Abramovitz 2017). The effect of globalization on economy and environment is considered to be significant, yet the effect that it may have on globalization is generally ignored by social welfare professionals. It is generally observed that social welfare is drastically affected by international developments and events. One example is the response of social work towards the immigration crisis of refugees and other immigrants. In consideration of the immense international view of the social welfare services, it is not enough to focus only on the local or national perspectives. If modern social workers are to achieve the much in social welfare services in this new global age, they will have to be more active in international fields so as to be enabled to apply international concepts in a systemic way (McKee 2009). Integrating international knowledge into their work will enhance the value of the services that they offer.

When it comes to the analysis of modern social welfare in a global context, commonality and diversity play an important role in ameliorating the surveys and researches that are conducted (Pacek & Radcliff 2008). For example, it makes a big difference when considering important social conditions such as infant mortality rates or child labour trends in a global context as opposed to limiting the view scope only to the locality, as there is observed to be notable differences depending on the region where the research is being conducted in the world.

As a social welfare approach, global approach of modern social welfare is wider in its scope and significance as opposed to the residual model, since it shifts its focus away from national or local perspective to international perspective.

While UNESCO has fostered efforts to aid countries in formulating fair and all inclusive National Children Agenda policies, there is a notable insufficiency of guidelines to help in streamlining this vital process (Murphy 2012). Exclusion of some children from significant engagement in cultural, social and economic perspectives is a problem that many people face in our society. The societies that are commonly neglected are those of the Aboriginal origin, the disabled, the poor, members in rural residents and immigrants.  Social exclusion entails the context of children not getting access to resources and lacking opportunity to fully participate in social events.

In order to promote equal access to resources by all children, there needs to be additional interventions to the national children’s agenda. For example, addressing the disadvantaged children from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is significant as so as to address this disparity. In the case whereby the best interests of the less privileged children cannot be sufficiently handled, there needs to be additional mechanisms put in place to enhance appropriate responses to the care, nurturing and protection of these families (Harvey 2014).

In general, in order to reduce the problem of inclusivity as regards to the interests of children in the national agenda, the government, businesses and the community needs to collaborate in supporting children from families that are marginalized and or disadvantaged in any manner, whether it be because of poverty, disability, minority groups, LGBTTQ disparities or francophone considerations (Mendes 2017).

Addressing Inclusivity in National Children’s Agenda

Alberta Social Policy Framework is a result of the initiative of the Albertans. It is a social policy that gives the definition of the people and the community, as well as reflections of a government that is committed to offering equal opportunity to Albertans, enhancing the spirit of unity and harmony in order to achieve the goals of this framework (Nelson, Howden & Smith 2008).

This policy framework was formulated in a span of six months and it enhances the participation of as many Albertans as possible using a two phased engagement criteria that brings together business leaders, elders from the Aboriginal regions, municipalities and service delivery agencies. In this way, this framework enhances citizen engagement. In engaging service delivery mechanisms and business leaders, it also promotes accountability.

This framework has a total of six components that act as its guiding principles that include the statement of goals, vision, list of desired outcomes, key guiding principles and a succinct description of roles and responsibilities of those who would be engaged to enhance the realisation of these outcomes (Howlett & Cashor 2009). Therefore, in every level of engagement, one can benefit from this policy framework, whether it is a social worker, a social welfare or a social policy analyst.

Furthermore, engagement process has been enhanced in this policy framework as the policy offers Albertans a number of multiple opportunities to engage in the following core components (Rice & Prince 2013):

1. Community conversations – discussing kits are available to help in this process.
2. Network mobilization – the government of Alberta has come up with a process that gives the Albertans a sense of ownership.
3. Citizens as editors – engagement criteria that gives participants capability and opportunity to reflect and analyse.
4. Open information – feedback from citizens shared through the website.

In summary, the engagement process has resulted to a report that is hosted online that is known as ‘Albertans’ Perspectives on the Social Policy Framework.’

Social movements are intentional and determined groups that are aimed at working to achieve a common goal. They could either be working either to bring about change or to resist change.

Stages of Social Movements

1. Emergence

It is the first stage of the life cycle of a movement. In this stage, a movement is trying to put itself together, and there is not much that is going on

1. Coalescence

In this second stage, a social movement have well overcome notable hindrances and have fully united.

1. Bureaucratization

In this third stage, there is observed notable level of organization in the movement.

1. Decline

This stage includes the possibilities of a social movement declining through repression, co-optation or failure.

The LGBTTQ movement is appropriate to compare since people perceive sexuality issues differently. Therefore, LGBTTQ social movements have become long standing impediment in social movement (Farnsworth & Irving 2011).

Personally, I do not consider LGBTTQ movement as a civil rights issue because it is riddled with conflicting views which make it less an inclusive in terms of the rights which it is propagating. There is divided attention by its would be acclimates. Furthermore, there are versions of LGBTTQ movements depending on region where they exist. This makes it difficult to give support for or against such movements as an individual except by court amendments in creating laws that protect their rights.

1.5 Social Indicators: Canada in an International Context

Social indicators assay to measure strides that have been made in nutrition, housing, health and the distribution of income, not leaving behind other aspects of social and cultural development (Shier, Graham & Jones 2009). Social indicators are more appropriate in use for cross-country comparisons. Canada has greatly changed in the past decade as far as social policy implementation is concerned. Using Hicks’s GNP indicator of economic development, we can develop a measure of how well Canada is doing in comparison with other countries.

Overview of Alberta Social Policy Framework

Due to the challenges faced during the first and second world wars, Canada received an impetus to develop new social programs. Canada moved away from its traditional system of social support that was backed up by charities in the federal government. New programs have come up that are geared towards mitigating sickness risks, joblessness and disability to aid in addressing failures in the market, retirement savings as well as housing schemes (Harvey 2014). Canada now welcomes a good number of immigrants to within its borders, especially in the recent decades. This migration is more especially depicted in urban areas.

Using Hicks’s GNP indicator for social indication, Canada’s economic development has grown largely due to the implementation of mixed systems that are managed by various branches of government and are publicly funded (Blau & Abramovitz 2010). These notable social and economic improvements have resulted to an escalated income inequality which may endanger social mobility in the future. As a result, these trends result to gaps and pressures on the social architecture of Canada, bringing it into a sharp relief. When compared to other countries, especially the UK and the US, Canada is way ahead in terms of public social spending (Alcock, & Craig, 2009).

Not for profit organizations basically provide the services that are not provided by the national government due to an unavoidable incapability. Especially in developing countries, governments are no sufficiently funded to carry out their activities, and therefore NGOs step in to serve. Since the private sector is not interested in making low returns in countries that are unstable, NGOs come in handy to lessen the gap between the private sectors and the government (Peng & Wong 2008). The services offered by NGOs range from heath sector, sanitation and water, social development and education. However, NGOs too have not been able to sufficiently carry out their outlined activities due to insufficient funding. The UN and the World Bank are the major funding entities of NGOS.

Public/private partnerships

As a result of insufficient funding by governments and the discouraging opportunities for private sectors to participate, public-private collaboration arises. This collaboration can be defined as a contract whereby a private party is responsible for the development of a certain infrastructural project, after which it leases it to the government for a certain period of time. The government buys the services offered while the management of the project remains with the private party that was responsible for building it. Because of the difficulties looked amid the first and second world wars, Canada got a force to grow new social projects. Canada moved far from its customary arrangement of social help that was supported up by philanthropies in the central government. New projects have come up that are adapted towards relieving disorder dangers, joblessness and incapacity to help in tending to disappointments in the market, retirement investment funds and in addition lodging plans. Canada presently respects a decent number of migrants to inside its fringes, particularly in the ongoing decades. This movement is all the more particularly portrayed in urban zones. This joint effort can be characterized as an agreement whereby a private gathering is in charge of the improvement of a specific infrastructural venture, after which it leases it to the legislature for a specific timeframe.

Stages of Social Movements

The legislature purchases the administrations offered while the administration of the undertaking stays with the private party that was in charge of building it. Along these lines, this model would require a head in an association to adjust control intrinsic in the structure of the association with the socio social setting, in order to raise a domain that is free from prejudice and mistreatment, among different types of shameful acts. With regards to a network practice, hostile to abusive administration conveyance demonstrate is involved with how the network reacts to mistreatment by gatherings or potentially individuals. Social strategy changes that would should be made to expel these aberrations in ladies commitment in administration conveyance incorporate upgrading the aggressiveness of the administration division by instilling in it the polished skill that it requires. The accompanying mediation can likewise be strong in perceiving the commitments of ladies in the general population benefit conveyance: A steady system and administrative component for ladies benefit labourers ought to be upheld inside the present arrangements for ladies social specialists.

Friendship centres are generally described as one of the mechanisms of giving the marginalized groups a voice and a forum to speak out their issues and to table their concerns (Habibov & Fan 2010). Emboldening the bond of indigenous touch as incorporating indigenous voices in events and communities is the principal role of Friendship Centres. These centres are the voice that advocate for and empower creation of a change in service delivery. Furthermore, friendship centres are engaged in outreaches, education and heath forums, and health projects and crises response.

These centres are also viewed as ‘business centres’, in that they allow for collaborative programs within them, that allow formation of partnership from outside themselves, and are therefore able to provide clients with networking opportunities with other programs and staffs (Jenson 2008). Furthermore, staff to staff interaction motivates clients to seek for novel services and aids them in cope well in case of friendship breaks easily, as there are already formed acquaintances. In this manner, Friendship Centres encourage citizen engagement, accountability and a community kind system of care in a vertical and horizontal organizational structure.  

Anti-oppressive service delivery model is basically an interdisciplinary model that is based on an approach that is aimed at ending social-economic oppression. Therefore, this model would require an administrator in an organization to balance power inherent in the structure of the organization with the socio cultural context, so as to bring up an environment that is free from racism and oppression, amongst other forms of injustices. In the context of a community practice, anti-oppressive service delivery model is entailed with how the community responds to oppression by groups and or individuals (Van Oorschot, Opielka & Pfau-Effinger 2008).

A youth shelter, is an anti-oppressive organizational structure since it depicts one of the characteristics of anti-oppressive approaches, that is, an attempt to come up with a safer and more respectful environment for the marginalized communities (Pacek & Radcliff 2008). This character is often expressed by youth shelters.

Comparison with LGBTTQ Movement

A traditional non-profit agency would integrate an anti-oppressive practice into their service delivery by collaborating with the government, the private sector and the community in incorporating the views of the youth and the marginalized into their policy formulations.

The contribution of women in a society’s social service sector is often under looked. Women, in any country, are the principal caretakers of the young, and really influence changes in the family circle. Statistics have indicated an increased number of female employment. Women are increasingly moving out of the traditional agricultural involvement in developing countries and out of the industries in developed countries into active service delivery, especially in health and education (Larsen 2008). As concerns for human welfare especially in the third world countries increases, the percentage of women involved in services has been on the increase, with a record of 7.66% between the year 1992 and 2012. This trend is anticipated to hike as opportunities keep coming up (Barr 2012).

In both developed and developing economies, there is a higher representation of women in the service sector than men (Béland 2009). More women are generally involved in retail and wholesale trades, hospitality service, health, social work and community services. However, there is a notable segregation of women in terms of payment, working ability perception and decision-making engagement.

Social policy changes that would need to be made so as to remove these disparities in women engagement in service delivery include enhancing the competitiveness of the service sector by inculcating in it the professionalism that it requires. The following intervention can also be effectual in recognising the contributions of women in the public service delivery: A supportive framework and regulatory mechanism for women service workers should be enforced within the current policies for women social workers (Mahon 2008). This intervention includes facilitation of easier access to women in service delivery, which includes provision of child care mechanisms, improving working conditions and enhancing equality and a discrimination.

Cyber bullying is a kind of bullying whereby individuals employ electronic technology to carry out their nefarious intentions, mostly destroying other people’s reputation for some selfish gain or spreading rumours and propaganda, mostly directed to one person or to group.  Research has shown that social workers can play a variety of roles at the micro, mezzo and macro levels to prevent bullying. In the micro level, individuals are provided with resources to assist them get through bullying incident (Béland, 2010). At this level, Social workers should help in assisting a bullying victim and also in tracking the bullying mastermind. At mezzo level, social workers should collaborate with their respective organizations to train their staff and work with them in bullying prevention. At this level, the social workers should work with the administration in integration of programs that could be significant in bullying assessment in the organization.

At the macro level, social workers should advocate for policies that would aid in preventing bullying. In this level, the bullying problem is viewed as a problem that calls for the effort of every worker. Hence, the voice of social workers could be the reason for implementation of anti-bullying policies and changes in the laws.

Using Social Indicators to Measure Social Development

This article attempts to explain why the welfare dependency in Canada has declined by evaluating disaggregated effects that have been brought about by the new reforms in social policies that are being implemented by provinces. The article dissects two major hypothetical reasons for this declension: reforms in the welfare policy and macroeconomic environment.

The social welfare approach employed by this author is an institutional approach. This is because, a observed, there have been changes in the social service delivery over time from the decentralised government. The decentralised governments have rolled out a number of programs in a means to balance the social welfare according to the needs of the public.

This is the analysis through the inclusion lens:

1. The current policy does nothing to reduce discrimination.
2. The policy in decentralising service offertory to provinces has not worked to increase income but to reduce it.
3. The policy programs increased resources, for it observes that poor people benefited in accessing resources.
4. The policy programs have removed barriers of social interaction by decentralising social welfare services to provinces.
5. The current policy does work to protect rights of citizens.
6. There is decreased access to resources by excluded groups.

Looking through the inclusion lens, analysis of this article indicates that the welfare reform in Canada has been of much help, since many taxpayers have accrued much benefit from it. Consequently, he poor have also benefitted because of shifting from dependency to work.

Over the years, the author notes that Canada has been exemplary in its redistribution spending. Canada comes second in terms of lowest overall burden as far as welfare spending is concerned, and is generally ranked in the sixth position as best performing in its controlling of spending as observed since the year 2000 (Burch 2013). From the mid of the 1990s to the year 2000, Canada has experienced social welfare reforms that saw the centralised programs that were under the federal government decentralise its social service delivery to provinces (Burch 2013). Now provinces run mixed programs that it in their discretion to undertake and regulate. This transition has brought about new social assistance programs that have not been before.

However, the author has not majored on the fact that some provinces have tried desperately to implement novel policy formulations that are geared towards reducing general social welfare participation. While others succeeded, others failed. Generally, with time, almost all provinces have managed to reduce the general social assistance levels of benefit and leading to tightening requirements for eligibility.

Compared with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program of America, somehow because they are more or less the same when it comes to food and housing. As the author observes, Canadian social welfare dependency has significantly dropped over the years.

This article dissects the impact of the welfare reforms on the poor from a political perspective. It analyses that prevailing ideologies on the social welfare reforms from both sides: from the political side and the effects on social workers.

The social welfare approach employed by the author is institutional based, because all the reforms on welfare that have been highlighted here have been effected by the government.  

This is the analysis through the inclusion lens:

1. There is avowed discrimination, according to the author.
2. The policy reform has increase income for the poor.
3. Many poor people have benefitted from increased income.
4. The policy programs have removed barriers of social inclusion, as the less privileged are more involved in social programs. .
5. The current policy does work to protect rights of citizens.
6. There is increased access to resources by excluded groups.

While the author has addressed a very important issue in the social welfare, he is only one sided and does not look at the benefit of the reforms from a holistic point of view. The perspective in this article, though from a political view, has some truth in it, as an imbalance would be naturally created, but the benefits of social welfare reform out rightly outweighs the disadvantages. Though, the article has excluded the marginalised groups and how the current reforms are working to include them.

The assertion that the Ontario spending in its social welfare reform is a target of the poor is ill-fetched and out rightly biased. The perspective is biased as it argues based on political ideologies and sadly leaves facts alone. The article ignores research that has been conducted which has brought out massive evidence of growth in social service delivery over the years.

Far from the presupposition that the social welfare reforms are meant to imprecate the poor, the social welfare reforms are actually an impetus for the development of the welfare of the poor. The social safety net is not bureaucratic as claimed. There are many benefits that have been generally accrued from social welfare reforms not only in Ontario, but also generally in the country. Furthermore, the hike in minimum wage is not directly related to joblessness since it is outside the scope of the social welfare to control economy, and therefore affect employment rate. The social welfare scope is to ameliorate the public social service delivery to the public, and is in no way concerned with increasing or reducing job opportunities.

There is also a failure of the article to consider gender and discrimination issues that the reforms have brought about. More women have been absorbed into the social service delivery sector in the recent years, thanks to the decentralization of social welfare programs from the federal government to the provinces.

In conclusion, it is my honest view that the social welfare progress in Ontario needs to be given a second look, and there is need to recognise evidence from research that has been done in arguing out.

References

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Alcock, P., & Craig, G. (Eds.). (2009). International Social Policy: Welfare Regimes in the Developed World 2nd Edition. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Barr, N. (2012). Economics of the welfare state. Oxford University Press.

Béland, D. (2009). Gender, ideational analysis, and social policy. Social Politics, 16(4), 558-581.

Béland, D. (2010). Policy change and health care research. Journal of health politics, policy and law, 35(4), 615-641.

Blau, J., & Abramovitz, M. (2010). The dynamics of social welfare policy. Oxford University Press, USA.

Burch, H. A. (2013). Social welfare policy analysis and choices. Routledge.

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Harvey, P. (2014). Securing the right to employment: Social welfare policy and the unemployed in the United States (1030). Princeton University

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Jenson, J. (2008). Writing women out, folding gender in: the European Union “Modernises” social policy. Social politics, 15(2), 131-153.

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Nelson, R., Howden, M., & Smith, M. S. (2008). Using adaptive governance to rethink the way science supports Australian drought policy. Environmental science & policy, 11(7), 588-601.

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Shier, M., Graham, J. R., & Jones, M. E. (2009). Barriers to employment as experienced by disabled people: a qualitative analysis in Calgary and Regina, Canada. Disability & Society, 24(1), 63-75.

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