Welfare

Decisions about who Is considered needy and how they are to be helped are dependent on our economic development, political views, and are often dependent on government resources (Stern & Axial, 2012). In research, primary data sources are beneficial when assisting the learner to completely understand every facet of a topic as It relates to the topic of discussion or a body of work. As it pertains to social welfare, it is vital to build a foundation which encompasses past, present and future happenings that will impact the body of work.

While doing research web-sites about primary documents as it relates social welfare policy, the following site seemed useful http://www. Ass. Gob/history/PDF/heisted. PDF. The Historical Development document discusses the history of the U. S. Social Welfare structure. There is also an interactive timeline provided for the Social Security Acts and the Development of U. S. Social Security Programs. One is provided a sequential view of the progression of the Development of U. S.

Social Security Programs, such as unemployment, Public Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families In 1 996 TAN), Public Housing, National School Lunch Program and the Food Stamp Program, amongst many more programs. This tool has provided this learner an insight to the key historical, political and social events that have impacted our country. As The united States approached the sass’s, the Great Depression was upon us, which resulted in our government taking a greater role in helping the poor and the establishment of the Social Security Act of 1935.

As one continues to study the history of social welfare, we will began to gain a better understanding of what drives our programs as well as how we can contribute to their success. Reference: Axial, J. , & Stern, M. (2012). Social welfare: A history of the American response to need (8th deed. ). Boston, MA: Allan and Bacon. Http://www. Ass. Gob/holster/PDF/ Halsted. PDF. Web-site Search By Krishna reforms of today. Be sure to format your citation in proper PAP format in your The history of Human Services is important for us to understand so we can grasp the goals of our current social welfare programs.

However, the seller or buyer may be damaged from international trade because the world price may higher or lower than domestic balancing price, then it may impact on producer or consumer’s surplus and continue to change the countries’ economic welfare for this import or export market Before international trade, the participator of Indian’s natural rubber market only include domestic buyers and sellers, as the Figure a-I shows, the domestic price is balancing between quantity supplied by domestic seller and the quantity demanded y domestic buyers, hence, the sum of the consumer and producer surplus which also called economic welfare in the equilibrium point measures the total benefits received by Indian’s rubber market from domestic consumer and domestic producer. In Figure a-I, without international trade, the sum of Indian’s economic welfare are the area A plus area B changes. Within the scenario, India is either an importing country or an exporting country, it imports a large amount of rubber and export were insignificant. Figure a-2 shows that India as an importing country of natural rubber. The diagram resents that Indian’s domestic equilibrium price of natural rubber, also named price before trade is above the world price.

Trade force the domestic price fall and equal to the world price, due to the lower new price (world price), the quantity of consumed domestically higher than the quantity of produced domestically and the import b India equal to the difference between the domestic quantity supplied and the domestic quantity demanded at the world price. In this situation, domestic buyers are better off due to them now can buy rubber in lower price. However, domestic producer are damaged because they sell the rubber owe in lower price. Moreover, consumer surplus and producer surplus also change and the change size also measure the amount of gain or loss. Combine Figure a-I and Figure a-2 to Table a-3 shows that before trade, consumer surplus is area A, producer surplus is area B and total surplus is area A+B+C.

After trade, the consumer surplus becomes area A+B+D and producer surplus only in area C and total surplus is area A+B+C+D. The calculation illustrates above show that, Indian’s buyers gain from trade in an importing country because consumer surplus area enlarged B+C. In spite of this, Indian’s sellers suffer loss because the producer surplus area decrease by area B. In any event, the gains of buyer exceed the losses of sellers, and total surplus grow by the area D natural rubber, the consumer welfare, producer welfare and total economic welfare of natural rubber market changes respectively. However, the gains from international trade exceed the losses which means the increases could compensate the decreases and still be better off.

As Table a-3 shows, the total surplus also can treat as total economic welfare rises in area D and it represents the gain from the trade. In other words, trade internationally make India better off no matter India is deemed to be the importing country or exporting country. Illustrate on your diagram the effect of a 10% decrease in rubber in rubber production Price of natural rubber Quantity of natural rubber With the case scenario, in 2013-14, the output of India rubber decrease 10% over a year before, on an average but consumer power was almost steady during this period. It means that, the quantity of rubber demanded is stable however the and demand curve stay the same.

Within Figure b-l, in FYI 2012, the Demand curve and Supply curve move together and adjusted to the balance under market organization, the equilibrium on PAYOFF as the diagram show was the initial balancing point. Furthermore, at initial equilibrium, the IQ represents the price that these two curves cross and named as the initial equilibrium price, additionally, Pl called the initial equilibrium quantity. In the year 2013-14(PAYOFF), due to the decline quantity of rubber production, the supply curve moves and shifts to the left from Supply-I to Supply-II as Figure b-l illustrated, it also means that at every price, the total amount of natural rubber that rubber producer are able to sell is decreased. Accordingly, the Supply-II curve and demand curves intersect in the point of New equilibrium.

UP and SQ represent the new equilibrium price and new equilibrium quantity respectively. Consequently, as Figure b-l shows, the shift in the supply curve leads to the equilibrium price raises from Pl to UP and lowers the equilibrium quantity from IQ to SQ. In conclusion, as the result of 10% decrease in rubber production, the price of domestic rubber increases and the quantity of rubber sold decreases, moreover, the equilibrium point also shift up and left. Describe fully the economic welfare effects of a significant import tariff in India mystically. When illustrate Figure c-1 shows that, as an importing country, before import tariff, India’s domestic price falls and equals the world price.

The consumer surplus was area A+B+D+E+F+G, and producer surplus refers to area C, at the world price, the tax revenue that the government earn is nothing. Furthermore, as indicated earlier, when India assesses trade internationally, domestic sellers are suffering loss by world price and contrastingly, domestic buyer gain from global trade. Moreover, without tariff, the tax revenue government earned nothing and total economic welfare increased. However, when the government concentrating attention on import tariff, the economic welfare changes. As Figure c-1 shows that, a tariff make the price of import rubber above the world price by amount of the tariff. When compete with suppliers of rubber imported, domestic producer now can sell their natural rubber for world price plus tariff.

Hence, either domestic suppliers or imported suppliers increase the rubber price by the amount of tariff. Domestic seller and domestic buyer also change their surplus because import tariff raise the price of rubber, with figure c-1, the tariff reduce the domestic quantity amended from SQL to Qua and increase the domestic quantity demanded from SSL to Sq. It means import tariff decrease the quantity of imports and make rubber market closer to its initial equilibrium before trade internationally. Additionally, import tariff make domestic producer in better situation but domestic buyers suffer loss, and government earn tax revenue from tariff. When consider table consumer surplus reduce the area of B+F+D+G, and producer surplus growth by area B.

Furthermore, the government revenue equal to area F which is the quantity of after-tariff imports multiply by the size of tariff. Moreover, total surplus fall in area D +F that represents the deadweight loss of the tariff. Due to the tariff is a kind of tax, thus, it’s no doubtful that the tariff caused a deadweight loss. Because under the free trade, market power will make the resource disposition optimization, however, tariff will distorts market incentives and continue to affect market to allocate the resources inefficiently. In other words, trade internationally with tariff make India domestic price higher than before, hence, it gives producers an intensive to produce more and intensive buyers to consume less.

With Figure c-1, area D and G represent the deadweight loss from overproduction of rubbers and underestimation respectively. Furthermore, tariff make the market shrink below optimum. In conclusion, trade internationally with import tariff in India natural market damage the buyers’ benefit and decrease the consumer surplus. On the contrast, compare to world price, domestic suppliers gain from import tariff because they can charge rubber now at a higher price, and the producer surplus raise up. Moreover, import tax revenue achieved by the government. And, total economic welfare falls because market buffer deadweight loss caused by import tariff, in fact, due to tariff, India rubber market is distorted and smaller than before.

Additionally, small market of import and a large market of import may suffer different total surplus. I) Assuming India to be a small part of the global market for natural rubber power in import and the exporting suppliers are not pay more attention in India rubber market, hence, India only can accept the world price as given but hardly to bargain the price of import, thus when a tariff is implemented by India, there no effect on world price, also as the exporting price. When analyzing the effect on India rubber market if India as a small part of global rubber market, the supply curve of natural rubber in India can be treated as a perfectly elastic supply and the supply curve is horizontal at the level of world price as Figure c-3 shows.

With this circumstance, the exporter want to export as much of the product to India in given world price. Now, when India take a tariff on imports, from table c-4 shows that, after tariff, the consumer surplus fall in area B&C and the producer surplus no change. The government received tariff increases in area B and total surplus falls as indicated earlier, the loss part in table c-4 refer to area C which represents the underestimation of domestic buyers. Hence, if India as a small part of the global market for natural rubber, whenever it implements an import tariff, national welfare falls. And the higher tariff India sets, the large loss to Indian national economic welfare.

Furthermore, domestic buyers may be the only part hurt by import tariff, because exporting rubber may be the only way they can buy for, and compare to producers overseas, domestic demand is more inelastic, thus, domestic buyer pay all the market loss caused by the tariff. Assuming India to be a large part of the global market for natural rubber Before tariff After tariff Change Consumer surplus A+B+L+E+F+I _ (B+F+L+I) Producer surplus C+D B+C+D NONE Total surplus G-(L+I) Assuming India as a large part of global market for natural rubber means that, Indian’s imports a very large share of the world market. Large part of imports also means India has tremendous effect on world rubber demand, hence India may affect the world price.

Furthermore, when a significant import tariff executed by the Indian government, there will affect upon exporting price India has higher bargain power to its exporting countries, and India can ask the exporting countries to offer a price lower than the world price of natural rubber to India, With the Figure c-5, assume that the P* is the price that exporting countries agreed export price and it lower than the world price. Hence when illustrate Figure c-5 and summarized in table c-6 shows that, when India import large amount of rubber, the price of rubber import lower than the world price, however, when an import tariff implemented, the domestic rubber price goes up and economic welfare changes.

At the price of P, the amount of rubber import equal to Qua minus Sq, and with riff, the rubber price rise up and the quantity demand reduce from Qua to Qua, the quantity supplied grow from Sq to Sq, moreover, the amount of import equal to Qua minus Sq. Although the tax revenue still equal to the quantity of rubber of imports times the size of the tariff, compare to small quantity of import, the tax revenue had been enlarged. Refer to Figure c-5, area G represent the tax revenue enlargement. Obviously, when compare Indian economic welfare on world price and with import tariff, there is no doubt that, the consumer surplus fall and producer surplus increase, area L and I represent the deadweight loss from overproduction and underproduction of Indian natural rubber.

Noteworthy that, government gain tax revenue by area G and F, and total surplus change by G-(L+I), it means that, if India implement a significant import tariff and make the area G big enough to exceed area L+I, Indian total economic welfare increased. In conclusion, if India as a large part of the global market for natural rubber, compare total economic welfare on world price and with the import tariff, the domestic consumer surplus decreased and producer surplus increase, it means domestic overspent tax revenue enlarged when compared to small part of importing market and it worth noticed that, the total surplus different than normal and small market before, the figure equal to the tax enlargement minus the deadweight loss caused by tariff.

As we have seen, if the tax enlargement part large than the deadweight loss area, India as a large importing country will increase its economic welfare. Additionally, the domestic buyer undertakes large part of import tariff because they pay higher price on importing rubber and another part of the tariff beard by the foreign supplier, cause they reduce the exporting price which means they earn less by each production. Hence, if the demand curve and supply curve more elastic or more flat, the domestic consumer for lesser in tariff. Suppose the Minister for Trade has recently been requested to consider an import tariff, or quota, or other assistance to the domestic rubber industry. Provide the Minister with appropriate advice, based on your analysis.

Dear Minister: Due to the annual statement of India’s domestic natural rubber market, the gap between domestic production and consumption of natural rubber increasing from FYI 2012 to FYI 2013. The growing gap fills by importing, and the price of the world for natural rubber lower than at home which strike India domestic suppliers too. Hence, according to India’s domestic rubber depression, some tax policy should issue in order to stimulate domestic supply. You mention that now you consider an import tariff or quota to assistant to domestic rubber industry, please allow me to explain these different types of tax and wish I could help you to do the decision-making.

First of all, as one part of global market, India as an importing country and accept the world price of natural rubber, in this circumstance, although domestic producer buffer loss, the domestic demander gain from global trade, furthermore, India total surplus increased which means trade globally enhance Indian’s total economic welfare. Then we talk about the changes when India takes an import tariff or quota in international trade. An import tariff is a type of tax issued by the government, however, tax increase the domestic price and continues to affect the supply-demand mechanism. Before tax, market allocates the scared resource optimization and imposes an import tariff makes market distortion and away from utilize resource optimum. Nevertheless, implement an import tariff may stimulate domestic producer, because

The organization of interest for the study will be referred to as the Administration is the federal government agency responsible for administering social insurance programs (retirement benefits, survivors’ benefits, supplemental security income, and disability benefits) in the United States and abroad. The Administration presently employs over 65,000 employees and has 1,500 Field Offices (FO), seven Program Service Centers (PSC), and one data operations center in the United States.

It received more than $532 billion in FY 2004 Congressional appropriations (SSA, 2005). The Office of Central Operations (OCO) is the third largest component of the administration. OCO directs service to customers by scheduling claims appointments, handling inquiries regarding recurring monthly payments, overpayments, and interruption of benefits. This department employs approximately 6,000 employees to conduct its operations, and received more than $495 million in FY 2004 Congressional appropriations (SSA, 2005). Statement of the Problem

The problem is that the customer service technicians are not conforming to production standards and are continuously receiving low efficiency ratings. A review of internal and external call monitoring, surveys of external customers to determine their satisfaction, abandoned calls, and the average time customers spent in the queue waiting to speak with a representative are possible contributors to low efficiency ratings. Training requirements vary by industry. Almost all customer service representatives are provided with some training prior to beginning work and training continues once on the job.

This training generally will cover four primary components: training on customer service and telephone skills, training on products and service or common customer problems, training on the use or operation of the telephone and/or computer systems, and training on company policies and regulations. Length of training varies, but it usually lasts at least several weeks. Because of a constant need to update skills and knowledge, most customer service representatives continue to receive instruction and training throughout their career. Purpose of the Research Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate customer service at the Administration and recommend strategic interventions from best practice strategies found in literature on training for customer service in the government. Research Questions The research questions in this study will focus on the training and effectiveness of customer services. Today people start new business ventures with different expectations than it was to be in the past. As many entrepreneurs come with new businesses and production techniques, ways and means of dealing with customers also changes.

The new technology to many people has brought a lot of significant changes in the global business environment. All the business sectors including private and government sectors are currently doing reengineering on how businesses are operated (Buhler, 2007). This is happening because of the competition that is brought by the introduction of the new information and communication technology. In all organizations both public and private bodies employees training is one of the best business practices that managers and supervisors of different organizations should adopt.

However management of sustainable performance results is quite a challenging task and should be based on a comprehensive, holistic approach to performance improvements and management. All the organizations through their leaders should ensure that all organization functions should be integrated putting emphasis on meeting customer’s needs and organization objectives (prof Zairi, 2005). Among the organizational functions that should be integrated may include marketing, finance, design, engineering and production and finally the customer services.

New production approaches require total quality management in order to improve production of good and services. In any organization training is a very vital tool aimed at improving the organization results. For customer’s satisfaction, customer’s services training are viewed as a key to an organizations satisfaction and success. Most companies have realized the benefits of having customers service department in their organization. Customer service generally has proved to be one of the most important elements in a business.

These organizations nowadays have started focusing on customer services training programs, which are geared towards training employees on skills required for customer services (Kamin, 2002). Supervisors of different organization are faced with tasks of supervising the various works done by different employees in their organization. The team manager or the supervisor is charged with the responsibility of supervising the employees in customer services. These people are concerned with coaching, motivating, training, developing and guiding employees’ performance through various formulas.

For instance, they may use observation techniques, metric analysis and feedback devices form customers systems. By doing this supervisor should have proper leadership skills that will help to manage transition? The current business environment requires organization to shift from the traditional way of production to the modern way in order to satisfy the customers’ needs. Strong knowledge of customers systems is therefore very vital to meet customer’s services objectives. Staffs or employees abilities should be constantly evaluated and reevaluated to meet these objectives.

One of the objectives in any organization is to ensure that employees operate at highest level of quality and productivity. This can only be met when they observe the various ethical behaviours and integrity. This can only be done through training. Those in the customers service department are always concerned with handling customer complaints and acting towards them appropriately. Most organizations have ignored this area ending up failing to achieve their objectives. Best business practices are one of the ingredients towards the success of a company.

New management of business require the manager and supervisors to be prepared for change Management skills is not the only task that is expected of these firms but multitasking and flexibility are keys to keeping on in today’s fast – paced work environment where experienced managers are required. Customer service department is one of the areas that have to be closely monitored by the organization leaders. The team manger or supervisor should be responsible for resource management of all customer service and operation functions for market including meeting productivity goals.

For the productivity goals to be improved and increased employees responsible for handling customers need some training (John, 2003). The way in which customer service staff handles calls from different clients and customers should be evaluated. The productivity in any firm will only increase if customers are handled in an honest and fair manner. Training should be provided to these staff members on how to handle and treat customers. Along term relationship should normally exist between the employees and customers. As call centers continue to increase in number, what constitute effectiveness in increasingly becoming difficult to measure.

However what is important is whether the metrics used focus on the following areas: quality, accessibility, efficiently, cost performance and strategic impact. The effectiveness of service delivery across all contact channels needs to be assessed for good relationship to be built between the customers and employees. The strategic impact on customer services satisfaction concerns with quantifying impact of service delivery on customer satisfaction. It also concerns with assessing employee satisfaction and other supporting activities.

Customers service training help the management staff in customers service department with a variety of useful skills and knowledge when carrying out their duties. First the staff will be able to know what customers want from the staff and the business in general. Generally customers need to be treated with a lot of diligence and respect. They should feel that they are honored in order to motivate them. (Buhler, 2007). Customers are also people who have feelings and interest. Front –line service employees and managers who mange front line people should be in a position of knowing what customers do not want.

Customer’s service training is therefore very important in providing skills and knowledge in common customer service mistakes that might drive customers away. Frontline service employees and mangers should also know the importance of a positive attitude and approach to customers. They should learn to develop the power to smile in order to attract employees. (Kamin, 2002. What should be noted is that successful businesses and managers, realize the importance that their customer service employee play when coming into direct contact through interaction with customers on a daily basis.

These people should be viewed as useful people in the organization. They are charged with the responsibility of interacting with customers face to face on a daily basis thereby promoting and representing the organization in a good way. However, the effectiveness of this interaction will depend on the quality of customer service skills these frontline employees have at their fingertips. (John, 23). Customer service training also provides necessary skills on the various types of necessary contacts that are more beneficial in building customer satisfaction. This can be in different types.

The personal and human interaction is vastly superior. The way greetings are conducted by receptionists, letters are delivered and how clerks handle their clients matters a lot. Positive approach and attribute from these people may help in promoting a long lasting partnership and relationships with customers. Tentatively a negative approach will send customers away this might bring a big blow to the company. The success of any organization will depend on the quality of customer service skills employees working in the customer service department possess. Good approach will make customers have positive attitude to wards the company.

They will therefore appreciate the way business is done in such an organization and finally this will attract many of them. Customer relation will therefore determine whether the business will succeed or fail. (Renee, 2005). Having seen the need for training of customer service employees and managers, it is therefore important to look at how training of customer service will be useful to the SSA. The social security administration is faced with numerous challenges as it tries to satisfy the need of all its customers. The research question in this proposal is based on what best practices of customer’s service training should be implemented.

The questions to be addressed in this study are as follow: – 1) How should the effectiveness of the current training program be measured? 2) Is customer service training useful in improving customer service in order for social security administration (SSA) to meet its requirements in future years? 3) Have there been any good results from organizations that apply the tool of customer service training? 4) Is there any difference in quality of service offered to customers between employees who have undergone customer service training and those who have not?

5) Is it important to provide customer service training whenever new changes and systems are introduced in an organization for example the SSA? 6) What are the problems likely to be faced when new systems are created without proper customer services training? Social security administration is burdened by various challenges as it tries to satisfy the needs of all its customers. This is because of the challenges brought by the introduction of the new system of serving its customers. What is needed therefore that might help in a kind of best practices of customer service in a government agency that covers reforms and interventions.

These are to help in improving the customer service and can only be helped through evaluating the various customer service-training tools. Chapter 2: Review of the Related Literature Introduction The Social Security Administration (SSA) is one of the largest government agencies, and is notable for the fact that most of its business deals directly with members of the general public (Auster, 2006; Barnhart, 2007; Bovbjerg, 2003; FOIA, 2006; Liebman, 2005). The SSA “pays retirement, disability and survivors benefits to workers and their families” (Claritas, 2006, p.

1). As a result, the SSA “promotes the economic security of the nation” through this disbursal of funds (Barnhart, 2007, p. 363). Payments to retired persons are managed through the Old-Aged, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, “universally known as Social Security” (Barnhart, p. 363), while the Supplemental Security Income program provides temporary funds “for low-income aged and disabled individuals” (Barnhart, p. 363). As a result of these services, the SSA pays out around $40 billion in benefits to more than 50 million people every month” (Barnhart, p. 363).

In the process of doing so, the agency processes “more than five million new claims for benefits each year, handling approximately 61 million phone calls to its 800-number, and issuing 136 million Social Security statements” (Barnhart, p. 363). In addition to these primary activities, the agency also undertakes other supporting tasks, “including issuing Social Security numbers, maintaining earnings records for wage earners and self-employed individuals, updating beneficiary eligibility information, educating the public about programs, combating fraud and conducting research, policy analysis, and program evaluation” (Barnhart, p.

363). Because of the enormous responsibilities that rest with the management of the Social Security Administration, in recent years administrators have become concerned that “Social Security itself is showing signs of insecurity” (Barnhart, 2007, p. 366). Because of the fact that the Baby Boomers (persons born between 1945 and 1963) are now reaching retirement age, combined with the fact that life expectancy has improved to nearly 80 years old, it is expected that the current system is well on the “path to insolvency” (Barnhart, p. 366).

It is projected that “Social Security costs [will] exceed annual cash revenues starting in 2016, and the gap between costs and revenues will continue to grow thereafter” (Barnhart, p. 366). Until 2038, tax revenues will be tapped in order to make up the shortfall, but after that such revenue will also “only cover 73 percent of currently scheduled benefits” (Barnhart, p. 366). Others argue however that at late as 2050 SSA will still be able to cover 73 percent of benefits, and thus “the perception that Social Security will not be there at all for today’s younger workers is a myth” (Liebman, 2005, p. 30).

One of the reasons why the SSA is facing some future difficulties is that it continues to operate on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, “meaning it doesn’t set aside money in advance to pay retirees’ benefits” but rather “uses Social Security taxes withheld from today’s workers to pay benefits for today’s retirees” (Auster, 2006, p. 1). This system “works well as long as enough workers are contributing taxes to cover the cost of benefits” (Auster, p. 1). However, as mentioned, given the size of the Baby Boomer generation, compared to those of younger ages continuing to work, this system will skew out of balance in the coming years (Auster, 2006).

While the problem could resolve itself if more immigrants come to the US, if the birth rate rises again, or if many Baby Boomers put off retirement, it is still expected that the pay-as-you-go system will experience some imbalance (Auster, 2006). Added to the overall problem of the future effectiveness of the SSA is the fact that Americans are saving less. SSA benefits were never meant to cover the entire income needs of elderly Americans, only to supplement income and thus “provide a solid foundation for financial well-being” (Liebman, 2005, p. 2).

Unfortunately, at present, “one third (of all recipients) receive 90 percent or more of their income from Social Security and almost two-thirds receive more than half their income from the program” (Liebman, p. 2). In order to restore some balance to this picture the SSA has had to begin to promote the idea of savings, and encourage recipients as well to establish personal retirement accounts so that they can live comfortably during retirement (Liebman, 2005). Because of this danger, the Social Security Administration’s current way of doing business has become the subject of heated political debate.

Overall, reformers on both sides of the political fence are calling for a modernization of the SSA in order to streamline its operations, and modernize all of its programs in a manner that will ensure their cost-benefit survival (Barnhart, 2007). The call to modernize the SSA emerged twenty years ago, when, in 1987, the GAO called for the agency to “develop an agency-wide, long-range plan and revise its system modernization strategy to be consistent with it” (Govinfo, 2001, p. 3). The strategic plan called 2000-A Strategic Plan was published in 1988, and formed the basis of a long-range strategic plan to reform the agency.

Efforts to modernize operations within SSA were then used to model a government-wide reform effort in the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, wherein strategic management was to be implemented in all government agencies. In the process of implementing such thinking, reformers began to acknowledge that “the real challenge is creating an environment and the processes that support a culture of active strategic management Such strategic management involves, “planning, budgeting, implementing, tracking and measuring in both the administrative and policy-making arenas” (Govinfo, p.

1). It also involves thinking, which is “seeing the strategic value of work being done and recognizing when no strategic value exists” (Govinfo, p. 1). A major element of administrative reform in the Social Security Administration is the movement toward a more streamlined, customer-friendly service. One of the primary ways in which this may be done, according to reform ideology going back to the Master Plan of 1975, is to replace the current procedures of SSA with a paperless office or bureaucracy.

The Master Plan itself “foresaw fundamental changes moving the Agency toward a paperless process in all major workloads” (Govinfo, 2001, p. 2). It was projected that such reform would allow new efficiencies undertaken by technology, and involving the hiring of more people to operate the technology. A generation later, looking back on the Master Plan, current administrators in SSA see that “virtually all the key systems and work process goals of the Master Plan have been achieved through the continuity of plans and design” (Govinfo, p.

2). One of the signal technological developments in making the SSA friendlier to customers was the implementation, in the early 1990s, of an 800 number hotline. The 800 number provided immediate access to service for any customer anywhere in the US, twenty-four hours, seven days a week (Nelson, 1991). The 800 number replaced a clumsy and inefficient preexistent toll-call system whereby a customer would call a local or regional teleservice center, and then be connected to the party they needed.

The 800 number provides toll-free access to customer representatives trained to respond to all primary queries, and pass customers along if they have questions requiring further help (Nelson, 1991). Though the 800 number system had a number of helpful routing protocols that made the system more helpful to all, it is also true that in the last fifteen years “800-number access is greatly improved, with calls being answered within 5 minutes of the time an individual first calls over 90 per cent of the time” (Govinfo, 2001, p.

17). In addition to providing improved customer service, the SSA is also noted for “measuring the work it does” in order to ensure the maintenance of high quality service (Govinfo, 2001, p. 10). The Agency has “established many measures of Agency workloads and performance, primarily concerned with inputs and outputs of the process” (Govinfo, p. 10).

The SSA also measures the results of its service, as, for example, it annually measures “the number of people whose incomes Social Security benefits raised above the poverty level” (Govinfo, p. 10). Much of this information is used to inform employees of strategic changes in the administration and “why they were important to our success as an Agency” (Govinfo, p. 9). Since the mid-1990s, most of these initiatives have focused on improving the Agency’s ability to meet and satisfy customer expectations.

In order to so do, SSA managers have been encouraged to “think strategically about the relationship between the decisions they were making day by day and the ultimate aims of the organization” (Govinfo, p. 9). As an example of the kind of business-oriented customer-service changes initiated by these processes, the process by which people made initial disability changes was “reengineered” using technology and a “start from scratch” approach to designing the process, resulting in a more efficient way to process new disability claims (Govinfo, p.

8). More and more processes continue to be streamlined by means of the use of technology. That said, these reforms, while streamlining the process of claims, for example, have also caused concern by others that technology would result in “a movement away from SSA’s traditional local-office based values in terms of service” (Govinfo, 2001, p. 4). For some, this process began with the introduction of the aforementioned 800 number.

While a number of people saw the introduction of the number as an optimal way to help Americans conduct their business with the SSA with greater access, and thus a major service improvement” (Govinfo, p. 4), others, including many employees at the SSA, saw the number “as reducing on a grand scale our hands-on relationship with our customer” (Govinfo, p. 4). The plan also involved encouraging customers to accept “direct deposit” as the primary means by which the SSA would makes its payments to individuals.

Many saw this as improving both service and the cost of making payments, but others argued that this move was being made “at the expense of the desires of the people we served” (Govinfo, p. 4). Indeed, “even the use of the word ‘customer’ conjured up in some the vision of a business rather than that of the helping social agency that we considered ourselves to be” (Govinfo, p. 4). Thus, even now, debate continues on how best to improve “customer service” but retain the agency’s special relationship with those whom it serves.

The debate over customer service and modernization in the SSA is more broadly framed in the overall issue of the ability of the agency to meet its requirements in future years. For some, the only answer is to privatize the payment system of the Agency. While some argue that the SSA should stay as is, others argue that it should be privatized, which means that rather than just make payments, customers should be allowed to manage their own personal retirement accounts (PRAs).

Some plans for PRAs may help to raise the standard of living of retirees, and also “preserve the social-insurance features of the current system” (Liebman, 2005, p. 30), while other PRA plans “have no economic benefits to offset their high administrative costs” (Liebman, p. 30). Liebman (2005) argues, however, that PRAs are probably the only feasible approach to redressing imbalances as the other option, raising taxes to cover the shortfall, seems unlikely in the “current anti-tax environment” (p.

5). Moreover, tax increases will most likely be needed to salvage Medicare and Medicaid. The upshot of the debate is that with PRAs on the horizon it appears that the Social Security administration is going to become involved in a new kind of customer service, making sure that individuals receiving benefits do not mismanage their accounts either by investing in mutual funds with high expense ratios or by investing in an inappropriate portfolio.

Formerly, it is “not the government’s role to prevent customers from making bad choices” (Liebman, p. 6). However, “in the case of Social Security, the government has an interest in preventing people from making stupid decisions because people who end up destitute in old age will become a public responsibility” (Liebman, p. 6). How might this customer service be provided by the SSA?

Columbus (2004) argues that “what is needed is a hosted, secure platform that includes strong analytic tools for evaluating investment scenarios” (p. 2). That is, the SSA must provide its customers with “guided selling interfaces,” and these must be qualitatively different than the so-called online customer service of the past generation, where “investment portfolios were pushed around like Lego blocks instead of being treated as crucial personal assets” (p. 2).

It seems likely to Columbus (2004) that, because only a few companies provide investment advice to employees, and then usually only executives, and also because “investment firms are only reaching the most dedicated investors,” the onset of a PRA-system means that the SSA will have to get into the business of providing guided selling platforms and investment advice for many of its customers. Finally, the introduction of PRAs will cause a number of auxiliary problems as well.

For one thing, because the average amount placed in a PRA will end up being smaller than the payments made now, most of the public will see this change as a “government taking money away from account holders” (Liebman, 2005, p. 7), and thus, there is a public relations problem in explaining how the system works. Second, also because the payments into the PRAs will be smaller, there is the issue of the cost-effectiveness of this approach. Small PRAs are “unlikely to be cost effective, as a plan probably needs to have contributions that are at least 3 percent of payroll to be worthwhile” (Liebman, p.

8), and thus administrative costs of maintaining such accounts might be prohibitive. This may entail limits being placed on services, in order to reduce costs, and may even involve charging customers for telephone inquiries, all of which may impair the perception of customer service. Finally, the PRA system will no doubt necessitate the creation of a number of guides and other publications, and also greatly increase the number of inquiries made by customers (FOIA, 2006). This too may weaken customer service.

In the SSA, many changes that improve customer service involve issues of employee workload and the use of technology. Many argue that only by improving its business practices, will the SSA be able to maintain a high level of customer service among the larger population of Baby Boomer retirees (Barnhart, 2007). Moreover, “unless SSA improves upon its current business processes by investing in and making use of technology improvements, resources may not be able to meet workload demands over the next 10 years” (Barnhart, p. 270).

One primary area in which this process is proceeding is Internet presence. The SSA “has rapidly expanded the types of online interactions that customers can conduct, such as filing claims for retirement benefits over the Internet” (Barnhart, p. 370). The SSA, indeed, “has a broad strategic goal of attaining a paperless environment by 2010” (Barnhart, p. 372). Other services provided online in the past two years include providing “Medicare replacement cards, online “account” status, access to change one’s address and telephone number, and direct deposit” (Barnhart, p.

372). Overall, “the SSA will give high priority to E-government projects that will result in large productivity increased by improving the business process, such as with the ‘e-dib’ project, a paperless process centered on employees sharing an electronic folder in a secure environment to review disability beneficiaries’ files” (Barnhart, p. 372). Finally, the Social Security System must also abide by reforms caused by the current political climate.

For example, The Freedom of Information Act gives citizens new rights in terms of inquiring after confidential records held by the government. Thus, in addition to satisfying customers, the SSA must also respond to public requests for confidential information of various kinds. In fact, the SSA compares favorably to other agencies in terms of responding to FOIA requests, as, for example, “the SSA processed over 17,000,000 FOAI and Privacy Act access requests in over 1,400 locations during fiscal year 2005” (FOIA, 2006, p.

1). The primary problem in terms of customer service with these requests is that, more than any other form of request, these requests are “the most time intensive” in that “the material requested is very voluminous or the issues are very complex and necessitate research and consultation with other SSA components” (FOIA, p. 1). The Office of Public Disclosure has 21 analysts who process about 2500 requests per year, including appeals (FOIA, 2006).

An added problem in recent years, and a major concern since 9/11 is the confidentiality of Social Security Numbers, and the prevention of identity theft and fraud. As a result of security concerns, the SSA has “a unique role in helping to prevent the proliferation of false identities” (Bovbjerg, 2003, p. 1). Whereas SSNs were formerly issued in a somewhat automatic fashion, all field officers must now first crosscheck any request for a new SSN with the Department of Homeland Security (Bovbjerg, 2001).

The SSA has also established a service to help states verify the SSNs given to them in the process of persons applying for a driver’s license, even though many states have not utilized this service due to “factors such as cost, problems with system reliability, and state priorities…and policies” (Bovbjerg, p. 1). Vulnerabilities have also been found in the process by which the SSA continues to issue new SSNs to children under the age of one, and also in the means by which the SSA prevents SSN fraud.

Indeed, “SSNs are often the identifier of choice among individuals seeking to create false identities,” and so the SSA has become the target of number fraud attempts. The fact that SSNs end up on various and numerous records held by states and localities makes prevention of fraud even more difficult. SSN theft can allow persons to compromise confidential databases, and can also gain them access to public records of all sorts.

In order to forestall these efforts, the SSA has “increased document verifications by requiring independent verification of the documents” with other agencies, including the Department of State. However, in practice, many field office staff continues to simply verify documents by visual inspection, which is believed by many to no longer be an adequate protection in an era of sophisticated document forgery (Bovbjerg, p. 7). In order to compensate for some field office weaknesses, the SSA has also experimented with creating specialized centers devoted solely to the verification of documents.

In order to further bulwark SSN validity, the SSA in 2002 began to phase in an “Enumeration at Entry” procedure, in which new immigrants under the jurisdiction of the State Department were granted authenticated numbers as they enter the country, thus preventing them from applying for fraudulent numbers once they are beyond State Department control (Bovbjerg, 2003). Finally, SSA has up to now had fairly lenient policies regarding lost card replacement, with SSA policy allowing a person to replace a card up to 52 times per year.

As a result, “of the 18 million cards issued by SSA in fiscal year 2002, 12. 4 million, or 69 percent, were replacement cards” (Bovbjerg, p. 9). These policies are being tightened. Also, weaknesses in the on-line verification process of SSNs have also been addressed, in order to prevent the overloading and thus disabling of the system.

Our company “Arun Textiles” was started in the year 1989. With our constant endeavor and the passion to present excellent quality and cost-effective products to our clients, “Arun Clothing Company” was started in 1992. In this unit, we have around 300 machines with a capacity to produce 400,000 pieces per month. As part of expanding plan, we started “Arun Spinning Mills  Ltd” in 1998 and “Sakthi Spintex  Ltd” in 2011 overall capacity with 76,000 Spindles.

We are a Government recognised “Two Star Export House” from the year 1995 and from 1998 onwards we have been ISO 9001:2000 accredited firm by Det Norske Veritas, Netherlands. As we have got our own manufacturing facilities like – Spinning, Weaving and Knitting, we can guarantee for excellent quality, cost-effective and prompt delivery. We manufacture the products according to our customers’ specifications and requirements and all our products are exported to Europe and USA. While selling our existing products, we also look for new opportunities and products which can be done.

Our group turnover is around US$ 20 Million and employing around 2000 people.  Arun Textiles Group are committed to Enhance customer satisfaction by manufacturing and delivering customer specified products on time, every time. Continually strive to improve our Quality Management System through active involvement of all our employees.

Compare and contrast the trends in the ‘settling’ & ‘unsettling’ of the political, economic & social settlements for the UK social policies relating to health care and social housing. (Approx 2 pages) Explain and illustrate the broad nature of the UK post-war welfare settlements (namely political, economic, social & organizational) and their reconstruction in the 1980s and 1990s. In what ways has the discourse of management affected the above two areas of social policy (i. e. health care & social housing).

In the United Kingdom, after the destruction weathered by the British populace during World War II and the subsequent poverty weathered by so many of the British peoples, the argument for the right of universal public services or the creation of an all-encompassing welfare state became popular. The idea that all British citizens had the innate right to accessible roads and a clean and healthy environment was extended to education, social housing, and to health services. Even then, however, there was some disagreement within Parliament about extending such social welfare programs to all, namely that of “cost.

Selectivity is often presented as being more efficient: less money is spent to better effect. There are problems with selective services,” because “recipients have to be identified, the services can be administratively complex and expensive to run, and there are often boundary problems caused by trying to include some people while excluding others. Selective services sometimes fail to reach people in need,” and to limit the elitism that had so often marked policies in the past, universalism was adopted as the ethos of all social policy programs in the United Kingdom.

Thus, unlike the solidarity system of social policy adopted in France, which attempts to provide care via mutually shred social obligations, the United Kingdom created what could be called ‘unsettling’ challenge to its former institutional system of social welfare. It created a new system, one in which need was accepted as a normal part of all British citizens social live. (“Social Policy,” 2005) This guarantee of minimum standards included a minimum income for all Britans. (“The Welfare State, 2005)

The United Kingdom became a unitary state in which central government substantially directed most government activities of social welfare policy, rather than leaving the enforcement of these policies to private industry. (“Social Policy in the United Kingdom,” 2005) Welfare such as universal health care for all citizens was provided for the population as a whole, in the same way as public services like roads, and the school system was rendered more accessible to all, as students who distinguished themselves received government support for their educations. In an institutional system, welfare is not just for the poor: it is for everyone. “

The Beveridge Report of 1942 proposed a system of National Insurance, based on three cornerstones, of equal family allowances, a national health service, and the goal of full employment-this created a new idea of natural human rights than had existed before in England, and settled the question of what constituted innate human rights for the next decades, until the event of Thatcherism in the 1980’s. (“Social Policy in the United Kingdom,” 2005)

Eventually, the Beveridge Report “became a major propaganda weapon, with both major parties committed to its introduction,” because of its popularity. During the war, the coalition government had already committed itself to full employment through free universal secondary education, and the introduction of family allowances, and the right to public housing for all in the form of such innovations council flats as part of the war effort, but unlike the United States social welfare policies during World War II, the British government made a commitment to retaining this philosophy and these formal institutions even after the end of conflict.

“Social Policy in the United Kingdom,” 2005) After World War II, all references to the working classes were removed from British laws. “The replacement of the housing stock, particularly through clearances, became council housing’s main role, with mass building. The subsidies favoured industrial, high-rise building, though this was often more expensive than the alternatives. Quantity was more important than quality. (Housing and Urban Policy,” 2005)

When the Labour Government was elected in 1945 it introduced three key acts: the 1946 National Insurance Act, which implemented the Beveridge scheme for social security and old-age pensions, the National Health Service Act 1946; and the 1948 National Assistance Act, which abolished the Poor Law while making provision for welfare services such as housing. ” (“Social Policy in the United Kingdom,” 2005) Thus, the United Kingdom became a unitary state in which central government substantially directed most government activity.

However, during the 1980’s and 1990’s, the rise of Thatcherism began to bring a new ethos to the land. In terms of social housing policy, for example, “the growth of owner-occupation in Britain” based on tax advantages became more common in the 1980s and 1990s. The Building Societie once founded on a social, co-operative and non-profit making basis, became banks during these decades, abandoning the original “mutualist tradition” on which they had been founded. “Housing and Urban Policy,” 2005)

In terms of health care, in the 1980s, Enthoven, an American economist, made an influential criticism of National Health Services’ organization. Enthoven argued that the NHS was “inefficient, riddled with perverse incentives and resistance to change,” and in the need of capitalist styles of management. “The reforms which followed were based in the belief that the NHS would be more efficient if it was organised on something more like market principles.

Enthoven argued for a split between purchaser and provider, so that Health Authorities could exercise more effective control over costs and production. The NHS administration was broken up into quasi-autonomous trusts from which authorities bought services. The role of Regional Health Authorities was taken over by eight regional offices of the NHS management executive. ” (“Health Care,” 2005) The United Kingdom to this day retains the mangerial innovations (or setbacks) depending on one’s point of view of the Thatcher era.

Thatcher was unable to institute some politically unpopular and reactionary ideas, such as a poll tax, during the decline of her power, but the privitization of health care and housing continued, as did such policies as asking for students to pay for more of their post-secondary educations, and limiting social welfare policies within the United Kingdom. The welfare system in the United Kingdom remains universalist in theory, but less and less universalist in practice after the ending decades of the 20th century required the government to make cutting costs and competing in the global marketplace the bywords of political rhetoric and policy.

Children”s health Many people call or write the National Coalition for the Homeless to ask about the number of homeless people in the United States. There is no easy answer to this question, and in fact, the question itself is misleading. In most cases, homelessness is a temporary circumstance — not a permanent condition. A more appropriate measure of the magnitude of homelessness is therefore the number of people who experience homelessness over time, not the number of “homeless people. “

Studies of homelessness are complicated by problems of definitions and methodology. This fact sheet describes definitions of homelessness, methodologies for counting homeless people, recent estimates of homelessness, and estimates of the increase in homelessness over the past two decades. Additional resources for further study are also provided. As a result of methodological and financial constraints, most studies are limited to counting people who are literally homeless — that is, in shelters or on the streets.

While this approach may yield useful information about the number of people who use services such as shelters and soup kitchens, or who are easy to locate on the street, it can result in underestimates of homelessness. Many people who lack a stable, permanent residence have few shelter options because shelters are filled to capacity or are unavailable. A recent study of 30 U. S. cities found that in 1998, 26% of all requests for emergency shelter went unmet due to lack of resources (U. S. Conference of Mayors, 1998).

In addition, a review of homelessness in 50 cities found that in virtually every city, the city’s official estimated number of homeless people greatly exceeded the number of emergency shelter and transitional housing spaces (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1999). Moreover, there are few or no shelters in rural areas of the United States, despite significant levels of homelessness (Aron and Fitchen, 1996). As a result of these and other factors, many people who lack permanent housing are forced to live with relatives and friends in crowded, temporary arrangements.

People living in unstable housing arrangements who lack a permanent place to stay are experiencing a kind of homelessness, but because they are not “literally homeless,” they will not be counted. Researchers use different methods to measure homelessness. One method attempts to count all the people who are literally homeless on a given day or during a given week (point-in-time counts). A second method of counting homeless people examines the number of people who are homeless over a given period of time (period prevalence counts).

Choosing between point-in-time counts and period-prevalence counts has significant implications for understanding the magnitude and dynamics of homelessness. The high turnover in the homeless population documented by recent studies (see below) suggests that many more people experience homelessness than previously thought, and that most of these people do not remain homeless. Because point-in-time studies give just a “snapshot” picture of homelessness, they only count those who are homeless at a particular time. Over time, however, some people will find housing and escape homelessness while new people will lose housing and become homeless.

Systemic social and economic factors (prolonged unemployment or sudden loss of a job, lack of affordable housing, domestic violence, etc. ) are frequently responsible for these episodes of homelessness. Point-in-time studies do not accurately identify these intermittently homeless people, and therefore tend to overestimate the proportion of people who are chronically homeless — particularly those who suffer from severe mental illness and/or addiction disorders and who therefore have a much harder time escaping homelessness and finding permanent housing.

For these reasons, point-in-time counts are often criticized as misrepresenting the magnitude and nature of homelessness. There is another important methodological issue that should be considered. Regardless of the time period over which the study was conducted, many people will not be counted because they are not in places researchers can easily find. This group of people, often referred to as “the unsheltered” or “hidden” homeless, frequently stay in automobiles, camp grounds, or other places that researchers cannot effectively search.

For instance, a national study of formerly homeless people found that the most common places people who had been literally homeless stayed were vehicles (59. 2%) and makeshift housing, such as tents, boxes, caves, or boxcars (24. 6%) (Link et al. , 1995). This suggests that homeless counts may miss significant numbers of people who are literally homeless, as well as those living in doubled-up situations. There are at least four widely used national estimates of homelessness. Many are dated, or based on dated information. For all of the reasons discussed above, none of these estimates represents “how many people are homeless.

The most widely cited example of a point-in-time estimate is the approximately 500,000-600,000 homeless people found in shelters, eating at soup kitchens, or congregating on the street during one week in 1988 (Burt and Cohen, 1989). 700,000+/night; 2 million/year (1999) The 500,000-600,000 estimate is sometimes updated by using a projected rate of increase of 5% a year to produce an estimate of over 700,000 people homeless on any given night, and up to 2 million people who experience homelessness during one year (National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 1999).

In 1990, a national telephone survey identified formerly homeless people and produced life-time and five-year prevalence estimates of homelessness. Seven percent of the respondents reported that they had been literally homeless at some point in their lives, and three percent reported being homeless at some point between 1985-1990 (Link et al. ,1994). The Clinton Administration’s Priority Home! The Federal Plan to Break the Cycle of Homelessness uses this data, corrected to include children, to estimate that between 4. 95 million to 9. million people (with a mid-point of 7 million) experienced homelessness in the latter half of the 1980s.

A second study was undertaken in 1994 to refine the analysis with more explicit definitions and detailed information. This study found that 6. 5% (12 million adults nationwide) of the respondents had been literally homeless at some point in their lives, and that 3. 6% (6. 6 million adults nationwide) of the respondents had experienced homelessness (literal or doubled up) between 1989-1994 (Link et al. , 1995). Thus, it appears that 12 million of the adult residents of the U. S. ve been literally homeless at some point in their lives.

Dennis Culhane’s study of turnover rates in shelters in New York City and Philadelphia is another example of a period prevalence count. This study revealed that 3% of Philadelphia’s population used the public shelter system between 1990 and 1992, and that in New York, 3% of the population received shelter between 1988-1992 (Culhane et al. , 1994). The Culhane study also found that in New York City, a single shelter bed accomodates four different people in the course of a year; in Philadelphia, each bed accomodates six different persons per year.

Because this study did not include persons in privately funded shelters or on the streets, the findings underestimate homelessness in both cities. A study by Martha Burt compared these rates with data from seven other jurisdictions (Burt, 1994). The comparison showed that the New York City and Philadelphia rates fall well within the range of data from other regions of the country. One limited measure of the growth in homelessness is the increase in the number of shelter beds over time.

A 1991 study examined homelessness “rates” (the number of shelter beds in a city divided by the city’s population) in 182 U. S. cities with populations over 100,000. The study found that homelessness rates tripled between 1981 and 1989 for the 182 cities as a group (Burt, 1997). A 1997 review of research conducted over the past decade (1987-1997) in 11 communities and 4 states found that shelter capacity more than doubled in nine communities and three states during that time period (National Coalition for the Homeless, 1997). In two communities and two states, shelter capacity tripled over the decade.

These numbers are useful for measuring the growth in demand for shelter beds (and the resources made available to respond to that growth) over time. They indicate a dramatic increase in homelessness in the United States over the past two decades. By its very nature, homelessness is impossible to measure with 100% accuracy. More important than knowing the precise number of people who experience homelessness is our progress in ending it. Recent studies suggest that the United States generates homelessness at a much higher rate than previously thought. Our task in ending homelessness is thus more important now than ever.

The National Coalition for the Homeless provided leadership in the successful effort to pass the Stewart B. McKinney Homelessness Assistance Act in 1987. Since then, NCH has continued to monitor the reauthorization and appropriations process for McKinney Act programs and other programs affecting poor and homeless people. NCH supports legislation to provide an adequate supply of affordable housing, jobs which pay a living wage, and universal access to health care. Legislative Alerts Learn about homelessness-related legislation being considered by Congress and what you can do about it.

General Homelessness Issues NCH’s 2000 Federal Legislative Agenda This document provides an overview of NCH’s federal legislative priorities for 2000, including housing, health, education, income, and civil rights. The McKinney Act The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act was the first — and remains the only — major federal legislative response to homelessness. This fact sheet provides a brief history of the McKinney Act, describes its content and evolution, and summarizes recent trends in McKinney Act legislation and funding.

Funding and Budget Issues Appropriations for Federal Homeless Programs Table of FY95-00 funding levels for homeless programs. FY2001 Budget and Homelessness This page summarizes the most recent budget and appropriations legislation and provides NCH’s recommended funding levels for federal homeless programs. Housing and Shelter Issues Community Housing Investment Trust Discusses key provisions of an NCH-sponsored initiative to create one million units of high-quality, affordable rental housing for persons whose annual incomes are less than the minimum wage, including persons with disabilities, elder age, or low-wage incomes.

McKinney Side by Side Side by Side comparison of major components of proposals to amend HUD homeless legislation (July 2000). Housing and Welfare Reform: Background Information Prepared by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, this paper explores the impact of welfare policy on housing and the impact of housing policy on welfare. Welfare Issues Welfare to What: Early Findings on Family Hardship and Well-Being Published by the Children’s Defense Fund and the National Coalition for the Homeless in November 1998, this report examines the impacts on families two years after the signing of the federal welfare law.

It presents national and local findings and compiles more than 30 state and local studies. The Executive Summary is available at http://nch. ari. net/w2wexec. html. The full report may be downloaded below. Welfare to What (Full Report – 246K) Note: To view this file, you will need Acrobat Reader. Using TANF to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness: Effective Practices and Strategies. Published in May 2000, this paper was written to provide specific examples of how states and communities have used TANF productively to reduce and prevent homelessness.

Other Internet Resources on Welfare and Poverty Links to online organizations and sources of information on poverty and welfare. Education Issues School Segregation and Homeless Children and Youth This overview summarizes available information on integrated homeless education programs (those programs that help homeless children enroll, attend, and succeed in mainstream schools) and segregated classrooms or schools (those that separate homeless children from housed children on the basis of their homelessness alone).

For more detailed information, including program examples, please see School Segregation and Homeless Children and Youth: Questions and Answers Reauthorization of the McKinney Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program Congress will consider legislation to reauthorize the McKinney Act’s Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program in 1999. The EHCY program works to ensure homeless children and youth’s enrollment, attendance, and success in school.

This page provides up-to-date information on reauthorization for advocates, teachers, service providers, and administrators, including analyses and summaries of reauthorization legislation, links to relevant committees, and more detailed action alerts. America’s Homeless Children: Will Their Future Be Different? A Survey of State Homeless Education Programs The McKinney Act is responsible for significant improvements in homeless children’s access to public education.

However, increasing homelessness among families with children and a simultaneous reduction in federal funding threatened the progress that states and communities had made in helping homeless children and youth enroll, attend, and succeed in school. This 1997 40-state survey examines the accomplishments and challenges of homeless education programs faced with increasing demand for services and decreasing resources.

Making the Grade: Successes and Challenges in Educating Homeless Children and Youth The 1996 Position Document of the National Association of State Coordinators for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. This report summarizes the history and progress of efforts to educate homeless children and youth, profiles 30 selected state homeless education programs, and offers recommendations for improving the McKinney Education for Homeless Children and Youth program.

Health Issues No Open Door: Breaking the Lock on Addiction Recovery for Homeless People This NCH report examines what has been learned in the last decade about the barriers that homeless people face in accessing addictive disorder services and the treatment and recovery interventions that are effective with the homeless population. The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) Program Describes the function and accomplishments of the McKinney Act’s Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program, as well as NCH’s recommendations for expanding and strengthening PATH.

Homeless Treatment and Recovery Competitive Grant Program Describes NCH’s initiative to reauthorize and appropriate funds for a national competitive grant program to develop and expand addictive and mental disorder treatment and recovery opportunities for homeless persons with addictive and mental disorders Increased Demand, Decreased Supply: Challenges to the McKinney Act’s Health Care for the Homeless Program Changes in the health care marketplace, in public policy, and in the face of homelessness itself are creating new demand for health services for homeless people according to this study published by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and the federal Bureau of Primary Health Care.

The 1990s have brought the largest influx of immigrants into labor force of the United States of any decade in this nation’s history. A panel of social science scholars concluded their assessment of U. S. society with the observation that “America’s biggest import is people” and determined that “at a time when attention is directed to the general decline in American exceptionalism, American immigration continues to flow at a rate unknown elsewhere in the world” [Oxford Analytica 1986, 20].

Unlike earlier mass immigration periods to the United States the present day wave of immigration to the U. S. how “no sign of imminent decline” [Bouvier 1991, 18]. “In today’s world setting, international migration is a discretionary action that is regulated by the specific actions of the governments of individual nation-states. ” There is no international obligation for any nation to allow others to enter or to work, in fact, most nations do not admit immigrants Mass immigration has played a significant role in the economic history of the United States, nevertheless the harsh fact is that what may be necessary and beneficial at one time, may not be so at another.

The demand for labor is being affected by restructuring forces stemming from the nature and pace of technological change; from the stiff international competition the United States that now confronts for the first time in its history; from major shifts in consumer spending away from goods toward services; In the national defense expenditures brought about by the end of the Cold War in the early 1990’s”. (vernon m. briggs,jr. and stephen moore. pg 35. ) In looking toward the future the twenty occupations projected to grow the fastest in the 1990s, half are related to the growing computer and health fields.

The shift to a service based economy is leading to an upgrading of the skills and education required by the labor force. On the other hand the occupations that require minimal skills and education have declined and are presently forecasted to continue to do so. Immigration can be useful in the short run as a means of providing qualified workers where shortages of qualified domestic workers exist. But, the long-term objective should be that these jobs should go to citizens and resident aliens.

The 1990 Census revealed that the percentage of foreign-born adults (25 ears and over) who had less than a ninth grade education was 25 percent (compared to only 10 percent for native-born adults) and whereas 23 percent of native-born adults did not have a high school diploma, 42 percent of foreign-born adults did not. Immigration, therefore, is a major contributor to the nation’s adult illiteracy problem.

On the other hand, both foreign-born adults and native-born adults had the same percentage of persons who had a bachelor’s degree or higher (20. percent and 20. 4 percent, respectively), but with regard to those who had graduate degrees, foreign-born adults had a considerably igher percentage than did the native-born, 3. 8 percent versus 2. 4 percent. ( )” It is at both ends of the U. S. labor force that immigration has its greatest impact at the bottom and at the top of the economic ladder. “The overall unemployment rate of foreign-born workers in 1994 was 9. 2 percent, while the comparable national unemployment rate at the time was 6. 5 percent.

The unemployment rate for foreign-born workers with less than a ninth grade education in 1994 was 13 percent; for those with some high school but no diploma, it was 15. 2 percent. The comparable rates for native-born workers were 13. 5 percent and 29. 9 percent. ” Consequently, the greatest labor market impact of immigration is in the sector of the labor market that is already having the greatest difficulty finding employment.

“The 1990 Census also disclosed that 79. 1 percent of the foreign-born population (five years old and over) speak a language other than English (compared to 7. 8 percent of the native-born) and that 47. percent of the foreign-born (five years and over) reported that they do not speak English very well. ( )” The ability to speak English n an increasingly service-oriented economy has been definitively linked to the ability to advance in the U. S. labor market of the post-1965 era [Chiswick 1992, 15].

Considering the factors aforementioned “the incidence of poverty among families of the foreign-born population in 1990 was 50 percent higher than that of native-born families or that 25 percent of the families with a foreign-born householder who entered the country since 1980 were living in poverty in 1990 ( ).

“Nor is it surprising to find that immigrant families make greater use of welfare than do native-born families” [Borjas and Trejo Even when legitimate labor shortages exist, immigration should never be allowed to dampen the two types of market pressures: those needed to encourage citizen workers to invest in preparing for vocations that are expanding and those needed to ensure that governmental bodies provide the human-resource-development programs needed to prepare citizens for the new type of jobs that are emerging. ” ( pg. 44 ).

We may need to reconsider ” an immigration policy that annually encourages or tolerates the mass entry of immigrants with only minimal regard to their human capital attributes or places dditional remedial burdens on an already underfunded and inadequate education and training system. It is not only the actual effects of increased competition for jobs and social services that are important, collectively we must consider the opportunity costs as well when considering immigration and its effect on our economy. “(Pg,48) The phrase “a melting nation of immigrants” is popularly used to describe the people who settled the United States.

Historian Oscar Handlin added to this statement by stating that “once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history” [Handlin 1951, 3]. ” The benefits of immigration, however are manifold. Immigrants are highly entrepreneurial. Their rate of business start-ups and self employment tend to be higher than that of United States born citizens. Immigrants contribute to the global competitiveness of US corporations, particularly in high technology industries.

Perhaps the most important benefit is that immigrants come to the United States with critically needed talents, energies that serve as an engine for economic progress. “(pg 78). Economist Ellen Seghal of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics did a study examining welfare usage in 1984 of several major federal programs of immigrants who entered the United States before 1982. She found that “the share of foreign born collecting public assistance including unemployment compensation, Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and AFDC was 12. 8 percent. The percentage for US born was 13. 9 percent. ” (pg 93).

A study by the City of New York’s Office of City Planning found that the public assistance rate was 7. 7 percent for immigrants and 13. percent for the population as a whole. Hipic immigrants are alleged to be especially heavy users of welfare services, but the research does not verify this stereotype. A study done by the Urban Institute found the “annual welfare benefits averaged $575 per California household, as opposed to $251, per Mexican immigrant Do immigrants compete with American workers for jobs? “There are almost always economic losers under such competitions, even though the society as a whole is almost always left wealthier.

The pressure of competition is one of the engines of conomic growth under a capitalist economy. “(pg98). ” When immigrants come to the United States, they immediately raise the demand for US goods and services (Greenwood and McDowell 1986). ” “They shop for food in US grocery stores; they move into apartments or homes, as producers’ immigrants fill jobs, but as consumers they create jobs”(pg106). Several studies have documented that the immigrants who come to the United States tend to be more skilled, more highly educated and “generally more economically successful than the average citizens in their home countries”.

Among Iranians who came to the United States in 1979, 57 percent were professional, technical, or managerial workers. In Iran , only 6 percent of all the workforce falls into those high skill categories. In that same year, 68 percent of the immigrants from India fell into these high skilled categories compared to less than 5 percent among the entire Indian workforce. Finally, 15 percent of the 6,000 Haitians who entered the United States in 1979 through normal immigration channels were professionals, administrators, or managers compared to 1 percent for the Haitian workforce (Gibney 1990,372. “

The hildren of immigrants also tend to reach exceptionally high levels of achievement as adults, in earnings and professional skills. “Economist Barry Chiswick has calculated that throughout this century, the children of immigrants have had earnings that are on the average 10 percent above those of comparably educated US born children (cited in McConnell 1988, 101 ). ” Americans are split on an issue that will likely remain on the forefront for some time to come. The subtle nuances interwoven within the issue of immigration are facets that require answers more akin to shades of gray than black and white.