Poverty: Individuals And The Wider Community

beggary Individuals And The Wider CommunityThis study will discuss what is meant by the term destitution, how it affects individuals and the wider familiarity as well explaining why it is great for Social Workers to expect a clear pick uping of these issues. By looking at the organisations in grade in the UK, in atomic anatomy 18as such as reproduction and health and aff adapted c be establishments this essay will demonst shoot how the structures of these organisations devil succor and stop Social Workers in their intention and how it affects the drillings of daily practice.The UK has the oldest and biggest discipline wellness service in the world, so this essay will likewise go on to comp are the issue in this country with that in the USA. As a first of all world country, the USA has an economy and culture non vastly different from that in the UK, which makes for some(prenominal) interesting comparisons of the administer they both provide. Both the UK and the USA spend the same proportion of their annual budget on cordial run and education and adopt a quasi(prenominal) rate of p overty.Poverty is a common term which many an(prenominal) another(prenominal) flock would define as simply creation a escape of m maventary resources. This is a very constricted affect which makes it difficult to determine how many spate bang in drive because the definition is vague and subjective. To understand and measure privation and its impact upon individuals and the corporation, it is important to define it further.Instead of one main definition for poverty, sociologists stick agreed there are two main types absolute and intercourse poverty, as described by Giddens (2009). out-and-out(a) poverty is used to describe the inability to provide the basic clement needs food, accommodation and clothing, on a budget of around $1 US dollar per day. The idea of absolute poverty is a spherical one which jackpot be applied regardless(prenomi nal) of country or culture and applies equally to people of similar ages and abilities. According to a late study by UNDP (2010), as many as a triad of the worlds population live in absolute poverty.Due to the modern eudaemonia extract and benefit system in place in the UK today, no one is expected to survive on $1 per day. However, figures provided by The Poverty Site (2010) show that approximately 9% of the population in the UK lay down an income which equates to only 40% of the internal median income. This has risen almost 7% in just over 20 years and suggests that poverty is on the increase in the UK. These statistics would also suggest that people living in the UK are affected by relative poverty as argue to absolute poverty.Relative poverty compares the income of individuals to the national or local average, and where it fall below 40-60% of that average, the individual is said to be living in relative poverty. There is still some debate about where the percentage rate should fall but many agree it should be 60% of the national median income (Giddens, 2010). This is referred to as the poverty line those below this line live in relative poverty.Certain groups of people are to a greater extent probable to honor themselves living in poverty, these include children, women (particularly single mothers), people with disabilities, heathenish minorities and the elderly. Cunningham Cunningham (2009), Giddens, (2010) and Llewellyn, et al (2008) all agree the reason these groups are more apt(predicate) to suffer from poverty than other groups is a direct result of neighborly exclusion.Social exclusion is a term which grew in popularity in 1997 when raw Labour was re-elected into regimen activity. Part of the pre-election campaign of New Labour was to rein the infrastructure causes of the issues affecting those who were marginalised by main stream society (The Poverty Site, 2010). deal, who for reasons including age, race, sex activity and class are often denied chafe to service and opportunities making it easier to arise them from society. This was evident when the BBC undertook a survey, and found that when conside surround job candidates, whose qualifications and experience were almost kindred those with a name traditionally wedded to people from non-white backgrounds were far less likely to be called to interview, proving that racism is still present in the workplace, (Cunningham Cunningham 2009).To tackle some of the inequalities present in mainstream society, New Labour introduced a physique of initiatives and policy changes to improve the commonplace of life, these includedThe introduction of Tax assign for families and individuals on low incomes,Every Child Matters a 5 train framework to improve the quality of life for all children,Connections an easily companionable advice point on a range of topics for young adults ages 13 19yrs,SureStart aimed at giving babies and young infants the best break thro ugh in life by providing advice, drop in centres and child contend for their parents.People who face friendly exclusion often live in the same locality council firm farmings for example, which tend to have a toweringer proportion of single parents and high rates of unemployment. These groups of people are frequently given negative labels, which over time can become self-fulfilling. For example, a young child growing up in a single parent family on an council estate as indicated above is more likely to be viewed negatively and given such labels as trouble, lazy, good for nothing, which over time can have a detrimental effects upon the child who will begin to view themselves as the labels placed upon them (Llewellyn et al, 2008). This negativity can lead to an increase in truancy, which in turn will lead to a poor education and employment prospects, thus setting up a life in poverty (Mail Online, 2007).According to Bebbington and Miles (1989), children from an impoverished backg round are 700 times more likely to be involved with genial go than children from a loaded background. This statistic alone shows how vital it is for social workers to have a strong reason of the impact and experiences living in poverty can have. It is argued by Cunningham and Cunningham (2009) that many professionals in the social work field feel overwhelmed by the structural inequalities faced when tackling poverty, this tends to mean that poverty is dealt with on an individual case basis. Changes in policy, both at national and at local direct can have an impact on poverty by the way services are implemented and delivered. As social workers are present at both the point of service and within the organisations where policies are make, it puts them in a prime position to affect change.Understanding and recognising the factors that cause and keep poverty part of modern society will allow a social worker to understand how they can interrupt the poverty cycle back up positive c hange.Placing some of the debt instrument for poverty on society and within the structural inequalities that exist, can sometimes be viewed as taking responsibility away from the individual and the survival of the fittests they have made, making them less accountable. A social worker should always maintain a positive and optimistic spotter and believe that despite the inequalities that exist, change is still possible regardless of the situation. It is important to understand how the education system and health and social sustainment organisations are set up in the UK to recognise how this can impact the access to consider.Responsibility for education in the UK has become a devolved matter for for each one individual country and overseen by their own government. The part of Education and The section for Business, Innovation and Skills predominately oversee the education system in England, with involvement from local governance. Since 2005/2006, Local Authorities are given a grant which is ring fenced for the purpose of education and with consultation from all schools under the Local Authorities control, the finance is distributed, (Department for Education, 2010). There are approximately 20,000 public schools in the UK a growing number of these are faith schools, almost 7000 at present.In addition to these state schools, there are a growing number of independent schools, almost 2600 responsible for the education of 7% of the population, (Independent Schools Council, 2010). There schools are funded primarily through tuition fees and in some faith schools, donations from the associated church. A large proportion of these schools are faith schools who do not short circuiten children out of doors the designated faith of the school within their catchment area.Historically, health and social circumspection has been provided by the semiprivate and self-imposed sphere of influence. Until the introduction of the Poor Law do work 1930, the majority of s ustenance for those in need was provided by charities and the work houses. People who lived in poverty had to rely on hand-outs, if they were deemed worthy of charity, or would have to pay at the point of service. Often it was those most in need of the service that were unable to pay forcing them to go without. The Poor Law execute 1930 moved the responsibility of shell out from these sectors to the Local Authorities, who began to take over the work houses and Poor Law hospitals (Spicker, 2010).The field health Service was established in 1948 with the ideology that everyone should be entitled to the same level of health and social services which were free at the point of service. Todays modern National wellness Service is overseen by the Department of Health. The country is flare up into 10 strategic Health Authorities who control the reverence provided by the trusts in its area. pity is split into two main areas, Primary and Secondary business organization. Primary occupy services include GPs, Opticians, Dentists and NHS Direct. Secondary guardianship is acute health disquiet and averageally only accessed in emergency or extreme situations and includes The Ambulance Trust, urgency and Urgent Care Units, Mental Health, Care and NHS Trusts. (NHS, 2010).The National Assistance make a motion 1948 called for Local Authorities to set up Health and Welfare comities, providing the first form of residential care. In 1970, The Local Authority and Social Services Act of the same year created the first Social Services departments including childrens, benefit and mental health. (The National Archives, 2010).The National Health Service remained largely unchanged until 1990 when the first major reforms took place. With the general population living longer, the cost of providing care was change magnitude and becoming unviable. The organisation of the National Health Service had also become unproductive and unyielding to those it was meant to help. Bureaucracy and red tape became the norm when trying to access any services or treatment.The National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 was the first step in the reforms to the health and social services departments. The introduction of the Purchaser/Provider split meant for the first time since the establishment of the National Health Service, government departments were no longer responsible for the provision of all services (Kirkpatrick et al, 1999). The reason for this was twofold firstly, to diminish the financial responsibility of care provision, secondly, removal of public provision would allow the private and voluntary sectors to grow and expand, making the care grocery store more competitive, and thirdly, to increase choice for service users. This act was also the start for a number of large care homes and institutions being closed and the care provided in the community.The principles behind these changes were well intentioned allowing people to be cared for within the com munity promoting independence and control over personal care. However, in reality what was offered were standard care packages and limited resources which did not deliver the true freedom of choice that was promised, (Llewellyn et al, 2008).To supplement the care provided for under the new system, many people have turned to charities to help fill the gap left by the lack of financial assistance. Providing people with the finances to pay for their own care, rather than provide the care itself, has meant people are able to choose how and by whom the care is provided. Many people have chosen to pay friends and relatives for the provision of care rather than rely on agencies and strangers. For Social Workers, this gives an opportunity to think outside the box when producing care plans with individuals. In communities, people are now able to form groups and committees to address and tackle problems and difficulties to provide a tailor made solution. This not only gives people control ove r their own care but also encourages the community to take action and to help itself.Although the UK has the biggest National Health Service in the world (NHS, 2010), the change in direct care provision and growing trustingness on the private and voluntary sectors is more in line with the health and social care services in the United States of America (USA).The USA has a minimalist National Health Service which provides the most basic of health care fondness for those on very low incomes and or in emergencies. Many people living in poverty will be eligible for Medicaid which is a healthcare programme paying for the whole cost of care, but poverty alone is not an automatic eligibility criteria. Many older people, 65yrs and over, are dependent on the Medicare system, which only covers 80% of the cost of care, the remaining 20% essential be funded by other means. Anyone who is outside the eligibility for these benefits must pay for private health care insurance, unless it is provide d for through employment, (US Department of Health Human Services, 2010). some other benefit provided by the USA government is food stamps however this is being phased out and replaced by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which is a short term benefit aimed at getting families back on their feet, (US Department of Health Human Services, 2010).The health and social care system in the USA is structured much the same as the UK, in that the government provides each state (Local Authority) with a budget to spend on care. In addition to this, states in the USA are allowed to set its own tax rates on things such as Income Tax, Sales Tax and kinsfolk Tax. The proportion of money put back into care differs between states, some providing a higher(prenominal) level of benefits than others.The USA has a much higher dependency than the UK on voluntary organisations, namely the church who provide care and financial assistance to those in their communities.Comparing the UK and the USA, there seems to be a different attitude towards the provision of care. The UK system is geared up to help prevent poverty and social exclusion, whereas the USA system is designed to help people get out of poverty but placed a bigger reliance on the individual helping themselves. Both systems are becoming more reliant on the community, voluntary organisations and the private sector for the provision of care lessening the financial burden on the state in the face of an ever aging population. Both countries seem to be unified in the attitude that people should help themselves out of poverty.Although the role of the Social Worker will always be required, there is a strong shift in the role from the provision of direct care to one of care co-ordination. To provide the best possible level of care for both individuals and the community, Social Workers must maintain a high level of knowledge of both statutory and non-statutory providers of care and how best to access them.This essay has demo nstrated that poverty is a global problem which is maintained by the way society works by socially excluding people and keeping them impoverished. It has also shown how two similar countries differ in their approach to care the UK government provides the majority of care with assistance from charities and the private sector, whereas the USA government provides only the most basic forms of assistance which a strong reliance on the church, charities and the public sector. Both countries are in agreement that with an increasing older population, each government needs to do more to lessen their contribution to the provision of care. During this time of change, Social Workers will need to find a way of providing the best possible care for those in their charge.