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Elderly Homeless Crisis: History and Origins

The growing number of elderly persons experiencing homelessness requires an extensive overhaul of the welfare systems originally designed to assist houseless individuals. Elderly persons are more likely to need medical assistance, supportive housing, and disability assistance, services that the U.S. government is straining to accommodate. 

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LGBTQIA+ Health Disparities

A very diverse group within itself, the LGBTQIA+ community contains people from every race, ethnicity, and socio-economic group. While each of these populations have their own unique needs, studies show that members of the LGBTQ community face similar challenges when it comes to seeking medical care.

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Current Issues and Programs in Social Welfare: 2001 – 2017

Note: This entry is an update to Dr. Marx’s previous article, “Current Issues and Programs in Social Welfare.”
George W. Bush took office as the 43rd President of the United States in 2001. It was only the second time that the son of an American president had later also become president. Bush, a Republican like his father, had defeated Democratic candidate Al Gore from Tennessee in one of the closest and most contested presidential elections in U.S. history.

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The 1970’s as Policy Watershed

In 1974 the expansive social policy system that had prevailed in the postwar era ended, and a more restrictive system that would characterize the rest of the seventies and the early eighties began to take its place.

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Redefining the Federal Role in Social Welfare: 1995

The November 1994 congressional elections transformed the perennial debate over how much of the national income should be allocated for social welfare, how broadly or narrowly should the welfare responsibility of government be defined, what populations or institutions should receive benefits or administer them, and how to divide the costs.

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Current Issues and Programs in Social Welfare

American social welfare, thanks to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Social Security Act of 1935, is furthered currently by two major categories of cash support programs: social insurances? and public assistance. Social insurances are based on the prior earnings and payroll contributions of an individual, while public assistance, commonly known as “welfare,” is based on the financial need of an individual.

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