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Running Head: SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS

Social Policy Analysis

Welfare-to-Work Policy; Principle Carer Parents

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University Affiliations:
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SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS

Social Policy Analysis

Welfare-to-Work Policy; Principle Carer Parents

1. Introduction

Grahame & Marston (2012) observed that in July 2006, Australian government had presented
Welfare-to-Work policies that mad it mandatory for single parents with schooling aged children
to get employment or seek employment from 15-25 hours weekly in returns for income
livelihood compensation. The paper analyses Welfare-to-Work policy with reference principle
carer parents using the policy analysis framework set out by McClelland and Marston.

2. Policy Definition

The structural reality is that policymaking making in countries such as Australia remained
controlled by the capitalism work mainly markets and business interest. Increased engagement of
all citizens with ability to working including parents with aged children increases person’s
welfare and helps improve collectively the living standards of the entire population (Barth, Barth
& Barth, 2017). The welfare-to-work policy aimed at improving welfare of single parents and
their families. The goal of the policy was to promote social change, solve problems in human
relations and empower and liberate single parents to enhance their welfare. The policy focused
on parents’ wellbeing which is an economic and psychological approach achievable through paid
work (Abramovitz, 2017). Care parents employment assist family to attain improved living
standards, raise self-image of both and influence imminent projections of the children. The key
targets for these policies are the single parenting families since the country perceives them to be
most disadvantaged form of family structure. Settersten (2018) notes that single parent families
are also believed to experience truncated levels of psychological welfare when compared with
overall populations.

3. Policy Context

Welfare state and social policies are simplifying ideas that legitimize political interventions to
care for the less privileged people in the society, moderate discriminations and enhance human
abilities for actions and autonomy. Contemporary welfare state is viewed as utilitarian
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SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS

manifestation of political system commitment to social rights and liberties (Settersten, 2018).
The argument between social theories and empirical reality has led to emergence of new welfare
state theories and ideas.

Main driving idea towards policy is assisting the individual wellbeing and working with families
both through advocacy and policy reforms to attain social, financial, civil and environmental
equity in accessing resources. Liberal autonomous administrations rhetorically maintain ideology
that each person deserves a maximum self-determination in achieving their styles of wellbeing
(Rice, 2017). Relationships to welfare policy practices just similar to successful parenting policy
combines support and aggravation and policy measure shoulder that individuals involved require
help as well as instructions they are to live helpfully (Marston and McClelland, 2014). The
informative approach to social policy analysis is based on larger social opportunity. The
approach has made great attention to how social players make sense of the world and the manner
in which social world objects become created in multiple approaches for different commitments.
Welfare to work policies therefore receives different perceptions. Mothers agree that the policies
makes sense and are of importance to their wellbeing comparing the stigma they got before.

Philosophers argue that eccentric idea of autonomy and choice have to be rejected I favor
sensible to understanding of independence that puts great weight to the significance of the socio-
environment in enabling individual’s ability to lead a self-determined life (van Berkel et al.,
2017). People with experiences in stigma frequently assume negative self-esteem which impacts
on their ability to view themselves as people with capability of shaping their opportunities in life
and economic and social choices. Previous studies show that women experience lack of
recognition or disregard on their mother-worker personalities and sense of disturbance (Cebulla,
2018). The Marxist Model states that power of influencing public policy is determined by the
people with economic powers (Marston and McClelland, 2014). Neoliberal globalization has
raised the capital power that has move across nations with little constraints from the top
administrations. Policy orientation regarding deregulations and trivial administration affects
policy by influencing taxation, industrial relations, employment, government spending and
welfare disbursement policies.
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SOCIAL POLICY ANALYSIS

Surveys on social welfare policies have indicated that liberal, pro-welfare state ideologies
dominated the Working-to-welfare policy reforms. Such ideologies rested on the concepts of
innovation and economic development in the structural-functionalist policy (van Berkel et al.,
2017). The Australian government recognized the need to raise employee involvement idea
based on supporting economic growth, increasing social participation and reducing expenditures
on welfare. The most significant change towards ensuring social ethics has been the Welfare to
work transformations presented by the Howard’s administration. The policy was made to
targeting the principle care parents, disable persons, aged job-seekers and long-term jobless.
Sociologists argue that the degree of the systematic changes due to globalization affects
expenditure, policies and welfare provision (Grahame & Marston 2012). These systematic
changes have been over estimated demonstrating that national and local authorities remain
significant in understanding transformation in the social policies.

4. Policy Impacts

The outcomes of the Welfare to Work policy reforms attracted mixed reactions (Abramovitz,
2017). While evidence shows that the changes in policy led to people from some of the intended
groups to leave income provision to seek employment opportunities, results for other non-
supported groups were limited. The outcome of the policy reforms may have simply promoted a
move to disability support pensions which is the sole non-activity tested payment program that
remained. Change impacted greatly as the principle carer parents were able to acquired adequate
income for care of the young people. The labor government has introduced further changes in the
policy in a bid to address the challenges noted and increase employee engagement. The resulting
changes included reconfiguring employment services to well satisfy demands and needs of the
less privileged job hunters, raise the Child Care Rebate and introduced paid parental leave.
(Burdon, Cooper, & Petrie, 2017) . The policy also necessitated change in the age for accessing
Age pension and tightened access to Disability Support Pension. The policy has placed Australia
into relatively higher levels of working age employment involvement.

The incremental reforms of the income support policy have been aiming at creating more lively
system that supports self-provision. In most cases, a considerable stability of family quality
manifest especially in times secure ties of attachment are created between the carers and the
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children (Barth, Barth, & Barth, 2017). Parental carers play a vital role in enhancing knowledge,
skills and environment that helps children survive hardship. The most recognized outcomes of
the policy were increased rate of employment for the women, disabled and the parents’ carer.
Government expenditures on welfare have reduced as people income to support their young
families. Care parents employment has assisted families to attain improved living standards, raise
self-image of both and influence imminent projections of the children. The welfare-to-work
policy overall outcome has been improved the welfare of the single parents and their families.

5. Policy options/alternatives

Public policy reforms in the widely debated welfare reform revolution that could be important in
the long run. The value of new work support programs both at federal and state government need
over emphasis (Abramovitz, 2017). The major alternative policy towards achieving the Welfare-
to-Work policy with reference principle carer parents remains devotion to ensure that the jobs
offered and available receives adequate rewards. Statistics shows that publics are eager to do
more for those working. The social workers have realized that giving employment is not the last
resort to helping achieve Welfare-to-Work policy for principle carer parents (Gilbert & Van
Voorhis, 2017). Main focus has shifted to compensation and working conditions. The capability
to meet the objectives is hampered low-income families who have to provide child care and other
associated expenses such as insurances for the children. The work support system serves three
main goals as a polity option to Welfare-to-Work policy. The policy ensures that the parenting
carers receive incentives for work.

Previous studies show that increasing incentives to workers leads to increased employment in the
unskilled workforce (Abramovitz, 2017). Giving higher incentives has the ability to improved
education performance on children since these incentives increase parents’ income beyond
rewards for welfare or work. People working at low wage can get enough finance to ensure
higher standards of living (Marston, and McClelland, 2014). One of the milestones to ensuring
the Welfare-to-work policy goals was introduction of minimum wage. Sociologists and
economists argue that raising the minimum wage benefits the low income families. Integrated
service delivery to ensure continuous and consistence support for the carers has helped address
the needs of the broader society. McVicar, Wilkins, & Ziebarth (2016) noted that one of the most
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prominent reforms is the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Australia
with other OECD nations has increasingly introduced vigorous labor market policies. These
policies are aiming at increasing employment involvement and self-reliance of its citizens then
reliant on government income supports.

6. Implications for Social Work

Overall work engagement increase requires reforms in areas that will help raise the level of
citizen participation especially those with disability and carers. The first reform is required in
designs of features that create incentive to the less privileged. Very important factor for
employee satisfaction is proper working environment which is safe. Provision of adequate
support and services will ensure that disabled and carers are able to work comfortably in the
work. Welfare states need to continuously and consistently invest and plan better integrated
service delivery (Gilbert & Van Voorhis, 2017). The policy needs strengthening and expanding
to not only address employment for the carers but also look into the minimum wage and working
conditions. Studies show that employers give carers work but remunerations are extremely low
and with poor working conditions. Discriminations and dispute in work place has manifested
itself. Welfare-to-work policy transforms social security making it personal responsibility entry
to the labor market exposure. Burdon, Cooper, & Petrie, (2017) notes that a very important
implication of embracing the Welfare-to-work policy situation is that it reduces the burden
allowed by social security as a tool of social safety, and moves that load to the minor influences
of the work marketplace by taking down stress on minimum wage through supporting
employments of marginal feasibility.
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REFERENCES

Abramovitz, M. (2017). Regulating the lives of women: Social welfare policy from colonial times
to the present. Routledge.

Barth, R. P., Barth, R. P., & Barth, R. P. (2017). The child welfare challenge: Policy, practice,
and research. Routledge.

Burdon, T., Cooper, C., & Petrie, S. (2017). Modernising Social Policy: Unravelling New
Labour's Welfare Reforms: Unravelling New Labour's Welfare Reforms. Routledge.

Cebulla, A. (2018). Welfare-to-work: New Labour and the US experience. Routledge.

Gilbert, N., & Van Voorhis, R. A. (2017). Activating the unemployed: a comparative appraisal
of work-oriented policies. Routledge.

Grahame T. & Marston G. (2012). Welfare-to-work Policies and the Experience of Employed
Single Mothers on Income Support in Australia: Where are the Benefits?, Australian
Social Work, 65:1, 73-86, DOI: 10.1080/0312407X.2011.604093

Marston, G. and McClelland, A. (2014). A framework for Understanding and Action:

Understanding Policy and Practice. In Alison McClelland and Paul Smyth (Ed.), Social
Policy in Australia: Understanding for Action 3rd ed. (pp. 44-62) Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

McVicar, D., Wilkins, R., & Ziebarth, N. R. (2016). Four decades of disability benefit policies
and the rise and fall of disability recipiency rates in five OECD countries.

Rice, D. (2017). Getting Welfare to Work: Street-Level Governance in Australia, the UK, and
the Netherlands.£ 55.00, pp. 224, Oxford: Oxford University Press, hbk. Journal of
Social Policy, 46(1), 205-206.

Settersten Jr, R. A. (2018). Rethinking social policy: Lessons of a life-course

perspective. Invitation to the Life Course: Toward New Understandings of Later Life.
Baywood, Amityville, New York.
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van Berkel, R., Caswell, D., Kupka, P., & Larsen, F. (Eds.). (2017). Frontline delivery of
welfare-to-work policies in Europe: Activating the unemployed. Taylor & Francis.