The History of Social Welfare Programs in the US Social programs in the United States are welfare subsidies designed to meet needs of the American population. (We’ll talk about the stigma associated with the word welfare a little later.) Federal and state welfare programs include: cash assistance, healthcare and medical provisions, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utilities subsidies, education and childcare assistance, and subsidies and assistance for other basic services. Private provisions from employers, either mandated by policy or voluntary, also provide similar social welfare benefits. They vary by various organizations on a federal, state, local and private level.

The Purpose of Social Welfare Programs They help to provide food, shelter, education, healthcare and money to U.S. citizens through: primary and secondary education, subsidies of college education, unemployment disability insurance, subsidies for eligible low-wage workers, subsidies for housing, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, pensions for eligible persons and health insurance programs that cover public employees and private citizens

State Children's Health Insurance Program. Relatively Recent Social Welfare Programs The Social Security system is sometimes considered to be a social aid program and has some characteristics of such programs, but unlike these programs, social security was designed as a self-funded security blanket—so that as the payee pays in (during working years), they are pre-paying for the payments they'll receive back out of the system when they are no longer working. Medicare is another prominent program, among other healthcare provisions such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The History: beginning in the 1700s .. Colonial legislatures and later State governments adopted legislation patterned after the English "poor" laws. Poor laws were adopted in England and Wales in the early 1600s. Relief under the Old Poor Law could take on one of two forms[10] – indoor relief, relief inside a workhouse, or outdoor relief, relief in a form outside a workhouse. Remember that this program in the US was modeled on the British programs. This could come in the form of money, food or even clothing. As the cost of building the different workhouses was great, outdoor relief continued to be the main form of relief in this period.[10].

Prior to the Great Depression the United States had social programs that mostly centered around individual efforts, family efforts, church charities, business workers compensation, life insurance and sick leave programs along with some state tax supported social programs. In the US, aid to veterans, often free grants of land, and pensions for widows and handicapped veterans, have been offered in all U.S. wars. Following World War I, provisions were made for a full-scale system of hospital and medical care benefits for veterans. The severe Depression of the 1930s made Federal action almost a necessity, as neither the States and the local communities, businesses and industries, nor private charities had the financial resources to cope with the growing need among the American people. Beginning in 1932, the Federal Government first made loans, then grants, to States to pay for direct relief and work relief. After that, special Federal emergency relief like the Civilian Conservation Corps and other public works programs were started.. The 1930s – the first real Milestone in social welfare programs

Social Programs in the 20s thru the 60s 1935 Milestone By 1929, workers' compensation laws were in effect in all but four States. These state laws made industry and businesses responsible for the costs of compensating workers or their survivors when the worker was injured or killed in connection with his or her job. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration proposed to Congress federal social relief programs and a federally sponsored retirement program. Congress followed by the passage of the 37 page Social Security Act, signed into law August 14, 1935 and "effective" by 1939—just as World War II began. This program was expanded several times over the years. In the 1960s, virtually all food stamp costs are paid by the federal government.[11] In 2008, 28.7 percent of the households headed by single women were considered poor.

The 60s to the 90s The Stigma Issue Before the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, welfare assistance was "once considered an open-ended right," but welfare reform converted it "into a finite program built to provide short-term cash assistance and steer people quickly into jobs."[13] Prior to reform, states were given "limitless"[13] money by the federal government, increasing per family on welfare, under the 60-year-old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.[14] This gave states no incentive to direct welfare funds to the neediest recipients or to encourage individuals to go off welfare benefits (the state lost federal money when someone left the system).[15] Nationwide, one child in seven received AFDC funds,[14] which mostly went to single mothers.[11]

In 1996, under the Bill Clinton administration, Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which gave more control of the welfare system to the states, with basic requirements the states need to meet with regards to welfare services. Still, most states offer basic assistance, such as health care, food assistance, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing assistance. After reforms, which President Clinton said would "end welfare as we know it,"[11] amounts from the federal government were given out in a flat rate per state based on population. So, what this means is that every state gets its’ “allotment” OR FLAT RATE from the federal government each year on July 1st (in CT). Therefore, in 1996, this benefit is NO LONGER BASED ON HEADCOUNT OF WHAT THE FEDS DETERMINE IS ‘POOR’ FOR EACH FAMILY SIZE. So, as more people fall into poverty due to the economic climate and political nonsense, the benefits in the state systems become less per household. 1996 Milestone

But the good news is … States can more or less do what they want with the allotment, AND many private, public and corporate entities work hard to ensure that within their own purview, they actively consider people living in poverty. So, what does that mean for us?

The three primary programs that are beneficial to Part-Timers in the Community Colleges in the state of CT Energy Assistance including Heating Assistance Grants http://portal.ct.gov/dss/Economic-Security/Winter-Heating-Assistance/Energy-Assistance---Winter-Heating Application due date this year is May 1st, 2018!!! https://www.energizect.com/sites/default/files/FINAL-C0071-HES-IE- Customer-Application-1.18.pdf

SNAP and Food Pantries 211 is your friend! https://www.211ct.org/search?term=food%20pantry&page=1&location=06040&service_area=manchester http://portal.ct.gov/DSS/SNAP/Supplemental-Nutrition-Assistance-Program---SNAP/Regulations http://portal.ct.gov/-/media/Departments-and-Agencies/DSS/Common-Applications/W-1E.pdf?la=en https://www.connect.ct.gov/access/jsp/access/Home.jsp

Health Care - Husky http://www.ct.gov/hh/cwp/view.asp?a=3573&q=421554&hhNav=| http://www.ct.gov/hh/lib/hh/pdf/HUSKYAnnualIncomeChart.pdf