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Absolute Poverty Line. A fixed level of cash (money) income.
In the U.S. this is set to cover a minimally nutritionally adequate
diet and assumes that food constitutes one-third of family income
needs. The line is adjusted for family size and, annually, for
increases in the cost of living.
Adoption Tax Credit. (See also Tax Credit).
A one-time tax benefit, a credit against income tax liability
for families adopting a child (and higher for a child with special
needs), to help defray adoption expenses.
Advanced Maintenance Payments (see Child
Support Assurance).
AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children)
(Title IV A of the Social Security Act). Now replaced by TANF
(see below). Formerly, means-tested public assistance program
that provided financial aid for needy children and their care-takers.
Block Grants (federal). Federal funds given
to state or local government which must be spent for general purpose
specified by grant. Block grants do not require pre-approval for
individual projects or programs so long as they are spent in the
agreed-upon area, such as some aspects of health, education, personal
social services, and now public assistance for the poor. (State
governments may also give funds to counties or other local jurisdictions
in the form of block grants.)
Career Breaks. These are policies that are
often established voluntarily by employers but may be statutory
as well, which permit employees with family responsibilities to
take time off following childbirth or adoption (or sometimes for
other reasons as well). They are unpaid leaves from work, sometimes
providing for opportunities for an employee on leave to return
briefly to his/her job for training purposes. Sometimes the policy
functions as an unpaid parental or child rearing leave.
Cash Benefit. A social benefit paid in the
form of cash or money, such as TANF, OASI and SSI. Categorical
Grants (federal). Financial grants from the federal government
given for very specific purposes, targeted on a special population
(e.g., abused children; the disabled; the elderly) or special
problem (e.g., drug abuse; domestic violence; homelessness).
Central Provident Funds. Public Central Provident
Funds exist primarily in developing countries. They are essentially
compulsory savings programs in which regular contributions are
withheld from employees' wages, matched by their employers, and
set aside for each employee in a special fund for later repayment
to the worker, usually as a lump sum with accrued interest. The
fund can be drawn on for defined contingencies such as old age
or health care or might be used to purchase housing.
Child Allowance (Also referred to as Child
Benefit or family Allowance). A cash benefit provided to families
based on the presence and number of children in the family. The
benefit may vary by the ordinal position of the child, the age
of the child, the employment status of the parent. Usually universal
(not means- or income-tested), usually tax free, and usually not
indexed but adjusted based on political decision.
Child Benefit. See Child Allowance.
Child Care services. Out-of-home care of
children under compulsory school age, or of primary school age
children when school is not open. Includes preschool (kindergarten,
pre-kindergarten, nursery school) as well as centers, family day
care homes, and before and after school services.
Child-conditioned Income Transfers. Those
income transfers (cash benefits and cash equivalents) provided
by government based on the presence of a child in the family.
E.g. dependents' benefits, child allowances, child tax credits.
Child Development Block Grant (CCBDG) was
originally authorized as an amendment to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1990 (OBRA 1990) and was subsequently re-authorized and
amended by PRWORA (PL 104-193 -- "welfare reform". The program
provides funding for child care services for low-income families
and for activities designed to improve the quantity and quality
of child care services generally. It is authorized through FY
2002.
Child Rearing leaves: Leaves from employment
which developed in some countries as a supplement to maternity
leaves or as a variation on parental leaves. Longer than maternity
leaves, sometimes not limited to parents with a prior work attachment,
and paid at a much lower level, the benefit policy is often described
as a kind of "mother's wage". In some countries the cash benefit
may be the equivalent of the government subsidy for out-of-home
ECEC and used either to supplement family income while one parent
is at home or to purchase private care.
Children. Usually defined as the age group
from birth to 18 (U.S. definition) but sometimes limited to those
under 15 (international organizations), and sometimes including
all children regardless of age, if living with parents (Italy)
and/or if dependent on parents, in a few other countries.
Child Poverty Rate. Percentage of all children
living in families with incomes below the poverty threshold.
Child Rearing Leave and/or benefit. (See
Family Leaves)
Child Support (sometimes referred to as Child
Maintenance). Financial support provided by a non-resident, non-custodial
parent for the support of a child.
Child Support Assurance (Sometimes referred
to as Advanced Maintenance). Guaranteed minimum child support
paid by a government agency when a non-custodial parent fails
to pay financial support for his/her child, pays it irregularly,
or at an inadequate level. The agency then attempts to collect
from the absent parent the amount advanced. Several European countries
(e.g. the Nordic countries, Austria, France, Germany) provide
such benefits.
Child Tax Credit (See also Tax Credit). A
credit against income tax liability. Currently, in the U.S. it
is worth $500 (in 2000) and is phased out for those with high
incomes (e.g. 110,000 or more for married couples filing jointly).
It is not refundable and therefore of no value to those with incomes
below the income tax threshold although it may be refundable in
other countries (and it may have different values elsewhere).
.
Child Welfare. (a) Either social policies
(benefits and services) aimed at the health, development and well-being
of all children; or (b) social services for troubled children
and their families, including protective services, foster care,
adoption, family preservation, residential treatment and home
or community-based services. .
Council of Europe. The Council of Europe
(COE) is an intergovernmental organization, with 41 member European
countries including all the EU countries. Its aims include: (1)
protecting human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law;
(2) encouraging the development of Europe's cultural identity
and diversity; (3) seeking solutions to problems facing European
society ; and (4) helping to consolidate democratic stability
in Europe. Its headquarters are in Strasbourg, France. It covers
all major issues facing European society other than defense. It
periodically organizes conferences of specialized ministers (for
justice, education, family affairs, health, environment, migration,
equality between women and men, reconciliation of work and family
life, children, employment, mass media, culture, sport, youth.
Decentralization. A transfer of the locus
of decision-making authority concerning policies from a higher
level of government to a lower level (e.g., from federal to state
or from state to county).
Demand Subsidies. Providing cash or cash
equivalent (food stamps/vouchers) to client so that he/she can
purchase goods and services in the marketplace. Assures client/consumer
some freedom of choice within a circumscribed area.
Demogrant. A flat rate cash benefit provided
residents or citizens without consideration of income, employment,
or means. Usually financed from general revenues. E.g. old-age
pensions for persons over a certain age; family or child allowances.
Dependent Care Tax Credit. A non refundable
credit against income tax liability for up to 30 percent of employment-related
dependent care expenses (expenses to care for a child under the
age of 13 or a handicapped dependent or spouse). The expenses
are limited to $2,400 for one dependent or $4,800 for two or more;
and the tax credit is limited to between 20 percent (regardless
of income) to 30 percent for lower income families, thus ranging
from $480-$960 to a maximum of $720 - $1,440. About 6 million
families claimed the credit in 1998.
Deregulation. Removal of governmental controls/restrictions
from an industry (e.g., deregulation of airline industry) or social
program (absence of federal child care standards).
Direct Income Transfers. Policy instrument
that provides cash or cash equivalent to recipient (e.g., SSI;
Food Stamps).
Disability Insurance. Disability benefit
portion of OASI (DI). Social insurance benefit intended for those
who are expected to be unemployed for one year or more due to
illness. Indexed (linked to consumer price index). Contributory,
linked to prior work history and earnings, designed to replace
part of prior wage.
Discretionary Funding. Funding appropriated
by Congress each year for specific purposes. (In contrast to non-discretionary
or automatic funding.) Discretionary Programs. Social programs
for which funding must be appropriated each year.
Early Childhood Education and Care (or Early
Childhood Care and Education). Services or programs targeted on
pre-school aged children from infancy to the age of compulsory
school entry, designed to provide care, socialization experiences,
and cognitive stimulation as well as subsidized parental (child
rearing) leaves for infant and toddler care. Financing and funding
source as well as delivery patterns vary from country to country.
Programs include: center care, family day care, pre-kindergarten,
playgroups, nursery school.
Early Head Start (See Head Start).
.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). A refundable
tax credit (a form of negative income tax) that allows low income
working parents to receive a credit against their income tax liability
or a cash supplement if their taxable income falls below a certain
amount. Since 1990, slightly adjusted for family size and indexed
for inflation. The most important EITC is a federal benefit but
some states have established EITC equivalents themselves. In 1997
the maximum EITC was $2,210 for those with earnings between $6,500
and $11, 930 and was phased down to zero for those with incomes
at $25,750. About 19 million families with children are estimated
to have received this benefit in 1999.
Earnings Test. Determination of eligibility for benefit
based upon cash earnings. Typically used for Old Age Insurance
(social security, OASI) for those who are at least 62 and less
than 65, for whom there is a limit on earnings in order to receive
a full benefit.
Entitlement Program. Program that provides
money or services to qualified beneficiaries as a legal right,
based solely upon the specific status of the client. (OASI and
Food Stamps are both entitlement programs with different requirements
for eligibility; counseling services are not, the new TANF program
is not.) Equity. Fairness in seeing to fulfillment of needs and
acknowledgment of rights in society.
European Union. An economic organization
of 15 European countries with unified judicial control, and some
limited responsibility for social policies as well, especially
those linked to employment. Large areas of social policy are the
primary responsibility of the fifteen member countries (Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom)
and a large number hoping to join.
Family. The term is often left deliberately
vague in policy discussions internationally, to avoid debate.
In the U.S., the term "family" is defined according to the Bureau
of the Census as: "Two or more people related by blood, adoption,
or marriage". In addition, for most social and family policy purposes,
one other criterion is added: including a minor child, under age
18. Most cross-national data bases use the concept of "household"
rather than family because of the diverse definitions of "family",
and it is possible to get data on households with children.
Family Allowance. (Also referred to as Child
Benefit or Child Allowance). A cash benefit provided to families
based on the presence and number of children in the family. The
benefit may vary by the ordinal position of the child, the age
of the child, the employment status of the parent. Usually universal
(not means- or income-tested), usually tax free, and usually not
indexed but adjusted based on political decision..
Family Policy. Explicit or implicit national
social policy (laws, regulations, other government actions) that
influences, changes or otherwise impacts children and their families.
Family Benefit(s). Cash benefits provided by governments to families
with children. Includes family (child allowances), cash benefits
at the time of maternity, paternity, parental, or child rearing
leaves, lump sum cash benefits at time of childbirth or adoption,
and other special financial benefits targeted on children and
their families.
Family-friendly Workplace Policies. A package
of policies provided either voluntarily by employers, as part
of collective bargaining agreements, or provided as statutory
benefits, that facilitate the reconciliation of work and family
life. These policies include: the various types of family and
personal leaves (maternity, paternity, parental, child rearing,
sick child, career break); the various forms of early childhood
care and education services (the service itself, a subsidy to
help pay for services, an information and referral service); the
right to work a shorter day (part-time work), if preferred by
the employee, while children are young; flexible working hours;
flexible work places; flexible benefit packages; a supportive
culture at the workplace that encourages the use of special family
benefits and services.
Family Leaves. Job- and benefit-protected
leaves for working parents including maternity (birth or adoption),
paternity, parental, child-rearing, care for an ill child, time
to accompany a child to school for the first time, or to visit
a child's school, personal leaves. May be paid or unpaid. When
paid, benefit is usually included in taxable income.
Family Support Act of 1988. Major welfare
reform legislation now superseded by the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Federalism. Constitutional
division of power between the national and state governments.
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Independent arm of U.S. government that responds to disasters,
urban riots and civil defense preparedness. FICA (Federal Insurance
Contribution Act). The payroll tax paid partially by employees
and partially by employers that funds OASDHI.
Fiscal Policy. Public policies having to
do with taxes. This policy also may have redistributional consequences,
may be intended to impact on investment, inflation, etc.
Food Stamps. 1964 federal program mandated
nationally in 1974 providing vouchers for the purchase of food
only. Means-tested program available to almost all poor individuals
and families regardless of marital status or presence or absence
of children who meet income and asset, employment and other eligibility
criteria. The only U.S. broad "guaranteed income" program, broader
in coverage than SSI, TANF, GA. Since the enactment of PRWORA
(P.L. 104-193) not available to immigrants who entered the U.S.
after 8/22/96.
Formula Grant (federal) - Grant in aid which
provides funds to states, localities, based on a particular formula
(e.g., poverty rate, number of elderly in population). FY (Fiscal
Year.) Funding and budgeting cycle; e.g., the fiscal year of the
U.S. federal government is October 1 to September 30.
General Assistance (GA) - Means-tested public
assistance program provided by local governments for those who
are not eligible for any federal or federal-state categorical
assistance program. Eligibility and amount of assistance vary
from state to state and even within states.
GDP (Gross domestic product).
The total monetary value of final output of goods and services
produced by an economy within the country.
GNP (Gross national product). The total monetary
value of output of goods and services produced by an economy -
that is by residents and non-residents.
Head Start. Federally funded compensatory
education program for disadvantaged pre-schoolers. Designed to
compensate for developmental and educational lags caused by social
deprivation. Largely part-day and largely for 3 and 4 year olds.
Early Head Start is a similar program targeted at the under 3s.
IMR (Infant Mortality Rate). Annual deaths
of infants under one year of age per 1,000 live births. More specifically,
this is the probability of dying between birth and one year of
age.
In-Kind Benefit. Non-cash benefit in the
form of a voucher, commodity or service (e.g., Food Stamps, Section
8 housing vouchers, Medicaid, school meals, child care services,
public education).
Income Strategies. A policy instrument that
provides recipient with cash benefits in order to purchase what
she/he needs in the marketplace. The objective is to provide income
as a substitute, supplement, or replacement of earnings.
Income Test. Determination of client eligibility
for service based on income but not assets; less constricted than
means-test, which includes both income and asset testing. Income-tested
Benefits. Those benefits (or services) provided on the basis of
an income test. Income Transfers. Cash or cash equivalent benefits
provided by government. See, for example, TANF, OASI, EITC Indirect
Income Transfer. Policy instrument designed to increase income
of families and individuals through tax benefits (e.g., personal
exemption, Earned Income Tax Credit, Dependent Care Tax Credit).
Low Birth Weight. The percentage of births
below 2,500 g., a sensitive measure of mother's health and nutrition
during pregnancy and before. The lower an infant's birth weight
below 2,500 g., the greater the infant's vulnerability to infections
and other problems and the greater the risk of sickness and death.
Maternity leaves: Job-protected leaves from
employment for employed women at the time they are due to give
birth and following childbirth (or adoption is some countries).
In some countries the pre-birth leave is compulsory as is a 6-10
week leave following birth. In some other countries beneficiaries
may combine pre- with post-birth leave.
Means Test. Determination of client eligibility
for a benefit or service based upon evaluation of income and assets.
Means-tested Benefits. Benefits granted to
people if their assets and income do not exceed a given threshold
(which is normally very low). Funding for such benefits falls
exclusively on public (general) revenues. (e.g. TANF; Food Stamps;
SSI, Medicaid).
Medicaid (Title XIX of the Social Security
Act). Means-tested program that pays for medical costs of specified
groups among the poor. Funded by federal and state (and sometimes
local) government. Enacted in 1965. Eligibility criteria and federal
matching funds vary from state to state.
Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security
Act). National Health Insurance program for those aged 65 and
above and the disabled (receiving D.I.). Enacted in 1965. Administered
by DHHS (federal Department of Health and Human Services). Focus
is on acute, in-patient care, not long term or chronic care.
Negative Income Tax. A refundable tax credit,
providing individuals with incomes below the tax threshold, with
a cash benefit. See EITC, for an example.
Non-Sectarian. Secular or not-religious auspices
for the delivery of social services. (Can be non-profit or for
profit.)
O.E.C.D (Organization for Economic Co-Operation
and Development. An international organization made up of 29 countries,
largely the advanced industrialized countries, with headquarters
in Paris, France. The mission of the OECD is to achieve the highest
sustainable economic growth, employment, and a rising standard
of living in member countries while maintaining financial stability;
contributing to sound economic expansion; and to the expansion
of world trade on a multilateral basis.
OAA (Old Age Assistance). Cash assistance
for the poor elderly enacted in original Social Security Act (1935)
and replaced by SSI which was in 1972 and implemented in 1974.
OASI (Old Age and Survivor's Insurance).
OASI (Old Age and Survivor's Insurance) -
Federal social insurance programs, under the Social Security Act
of 1935. Provides cash benefit to aged and retired persons as
well as their surviving dependents, regardless of income. Contributory
benefit (paid for by employee and employer contributions - payroll
taxes), work and earnings related, available beginning at age
62. (See also, Disability Insurance).
Parental leaves: Gender-neutral, job-protected
leaves from employment which usually follow maternity leaves and
permit either men or women to take advantage of the policy and
share the leave or choose which of them will use it. If there
is no specified maternity leave, a portion of these leaves is
usually reserved for women, to ensure a period of physical convalescence
and recovery after childbirth. Recently, in some countries, some
portion of the parental leave is reserved for fathers, on a "use
it or lose it" basis, to create an incentive for fathers to play
a more active parenting role. In some countries, these supplementary
leaves are unpaid.
Paternity leaves: Job-protected leaves from
employment for fathers, for many of the same purposes as maternity
and parental leaves, but especially for reasons of gender equity.
They are usually much briefer than maternity leaves, function
as supplements to such leaves, and are especially important when
a second child is born and the first child requires care while
mother and newborn may need help. Take-up is usually quite high
for these leaves, in contrast to fathers' use of parental leaves
.
Pay As You Go or Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
Funding Old Age Insurance (pension) benefits by means of current
contributions (FICA taxes) rather than full funding in advance.
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA; P.L. 104-193). The new
"welfare" law: replaces AFDC with TANF, sets time limits for receipt,
mandates work, ends entitlement to assistance and provides block
grant funding giving states great flexibility in designing TANF
program. It also protects the entitlement status of Food Stamps
and Medicaid, but makes some changes. Includes 9 "Titles" or provisions:
TANF is Title I (See below). Other provisions include the expansion
of child support enforcement, redefining disability for children
under SSI, eliminating federally funded benefit receipt by immigrants
who entered the country after 8/22/96, expanding child care funding,
restricting Food Stamp eligibility, and curtailing child nutrition
programs, but sustaining child welfare.
Personal Social Services . Services such
as counseling, foster care, senior centers, job placement, or
training services designed to provide individualized help (both
practical and therapeutic) as well as linking clients to entitlement
programs. May be either publicly or privately delivered. PL -
Public Law (followed by a number, e.g., PL 99-457) indicates the
Congressional session that a law was passed and the number of
the law in that session. It is often how legislation is referred
to.
Poverty. Inadequate income. (a) absolute
poverty - deprivation, funds inadequate for basic food, clothing,
shelter, health needs; (b) relative poverty -income below some
portion of median income. (c) subjective poverty - feeling of
deprivation based on societal norms; e.g., being without a phone
today would be deprivation, 50 years ago it was not so; (d) poverty
line - income level set by federal government based on the cost
of a market basket of items, indexed annually to consumer price
index; (e) official poverty is defined in U.S. as pre-tax and
post transfer - money income before taxes, after receipt of transfers.
(Recent debate has suggested inclusions of in-kind "income" to
include benefits such as Food Stamps (and for some, cost of health
insurance that would cover the equivalent of Medicare/Medicaid.)
See also, Absolute Poverty Line and Relative Poverty Line. In
the least developed countries, income poverty is defined as per
capita income below $1 US and under $2 US in the less developed
countries. (World Bank)
Pre-school. Child-care services to children
below the age of formal public education, that includes educational
and developmental content.
Privatization. Increased use of private sector
in providing social benefits and services, such as greater reliance
on occupational welfare or proprietary child care services or
nursing homes. May involve reduced role of government and increased
role of market in funding, delivery, and/or regulation.
Public Assistance. Cash benefit provided
to the poor on the basis of a means test. Financed out of general
tax revenues.Public Assistance programs in the U.S. include TANF
and SSI. Eligibility requirements and dollar amounts vary among
states, and within some states.
Purchasing Power Parities
(PPPs). A conversion rate that uses the prices of a selection
of comparable products (a basket of goods and services) in different
countries and thus takes account of the real purchasing power
of a currency across countries.
Redistribution. Transfer of monies, benefits
and services from one group in the society to another so its members
receive a balance different from that created through the marketplace.
Relative Poverty Line. Defining poverty as
some portions of a normative standard in a country, usually a
proportion of median income. Relative poverty lines are usually
expressed as being between 40 or 50 percent of median income.
In the United States the absolute poverty line was about 44% of
median income when first established in 1963, but is now just
about 40%. (In the EU a "low income" threshold is defined as below
60 percent of median income.)
Safety Net. Income security programs that
provide aid when primary and secondary sources of support (earnings
and social insurance benefits) are absent or inadequate. Sectarian
. Auspices of and funding from a specific religious group. May
or may not serve primarily members of that religious group. (Usually
non-profit.)
Selectivity . Eligibility criteria for recipient
of social benefits or services that target a particular group
and usually include means-testing.
Service Strategy. A policy instrument that
provides the client with goods and services rather than with the
cash needed to obtain them. (Examples are surplus food, child
care services, counseling, public housing and public education.)
Social Assistance. An alternative term used internationally to
describe public assistance.
Social Exclusion. A multi-dimensional concept,
involving economic, social, political, cultural, and special aspects
of disadvantage and deprivation, often described as the process
by which individuals and groups are wholly or partly excluded
from participation in their society, as a consequence of low income
and constricted access to employment, social benefits and services,
and to various aspects of cultural and community life. A key component
is the framing of the issue as social and community exclusion,
rather than individual and personal responsibility. While some
policy scholars use the term interchangeably with income poverty
- or income poverty and unemployment - - it is increasingly distinguished
from financial poverty and focused rather on constricted access
to civil, political, and social rights and opportunities.
Social Expenditure (referred to, also, as
"social welfare expenditure" and "social protection expenditures")
- Expenditure of the government (public social expenditure) and
the private sector on health, income transfers, education, housing,
employment, personal social services. The size, composition, share
borne by government, number of beneficiaries, provide a picture
of a country's social policy.
Social Indicators. Quantitative measures
that have been shown to be valid and reliable and provide a picture
of social conditions over time.
Social Insurance. Government cash benefit
programs that protect against loss of income due to certain "social
risks" such as old age, death of a breadwinner, unemployment,
disability, (and in other countries sickness, maternity, divorce).
(OASI is the major U.S. social insurance program.) The main component
(in most countries) of "social security" are old age and retirement
pensions, health insurance, unemployment insurance, disability
insurance, sickness benefits. Benefits depend on previous employment
history and are independent of a claimant's personal or family
income. Benefits are financed from contributions which may be
levied on any combination of workers, employers and the state.
Social Minimum. Level of personal or household
income which is regarded necessary for a person or family to exist
in a given society without major deprivation. Social Policy. Laws,
actions, regulations, and other interventions of government designed
to ensure that all citizens have at least a minimum standard of
living regardless of their ability to participate in the market.
There are 5 or 6 generally accepted social policy fields (e.g.,
income transfers, education, health care, employment, housing,
personal social services).
Social Protection (See also, Social Policy;
Social Welfare). Social Protection is a term used in Europe, especially
in the EU, and is defined as: "all interventions from public or
private bodies intended to relieve households and individuals
of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs, provided that
there is neither a simultaneous reciprocal nor an individual arrangement
involved. The list of risks or needs that may give rise to social
protection is fixed by convention as follows: 1) Sickness/Health
care 2) Disability 3) Old Age 4) Survivors 5) Family/children
6) Unemployment 7) Housing 8) Social exclusion not elsewhere classified."
Social Sector - That part of government activities that address
the needs of its clients through social policy or social protection
(e.g., income transfers, health care, education, are components
of the social sector).
Social Security (Internationally) - The institutions
and measures of social insurance and social assistance aimed at
providing income and social security to the population. There
are five 'pillars' of social security, i.e. (1) pensions and survivor
benefits; (2) health care, sickness and disability transfers;
(3) family and child benefits; (4) unemployment benefits; and
(5) social assistance. The term is also used as a parallel to
"Social Protection" Social Security (U.S.). Old Age and Survivor's
Insurance (OASI). (Pensions, life insurance, and disability cash
benefits.)
SSI (Supplemental Security Income.) Federal
public assistance program providing means-tested cash benefits
for the aged and disabled on the basis of nationally uniform eligibility
criteria. Enacted in 1972 and first implemented in 1974. Administered
by the Social Security Administration. May be supplemented by
states.
State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
Title XXI of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1997, expanding
health insurance coverage for children in low-income families
and expanding the federal share of the costs of this federal and
state program.
Subsistence Minimum. Minimum income needed
to provide a bare subsistence in a given society. It is usually
associated with the absolute poverty line and involves major deprivations.
Supply Subsidy. Direct funding to provider
so that services are available to the client in the community
(e.g., public health, housing, and child care).
Targeting. Directing an intervention or policy
instrument at a group that appears particularly vulnerable to
a specific social problem, or to a particular problem. Often equated
with selectivity and a focus on the poor.
Tax Benefits. Policy instruments that may
act as income transfers for individuals or families. Two major
categories: (a) tax allowances - pre-tax deductions (e.g., dependent
or personal exemption; (b) tax credits - deductions taken against
tax liability (e.g., child care tax credit). These tax credits
may be refundable (with a cash benefit provided to those with
incomes below the tax threshold, such as the EITC) or non-refundable
(of value only to those with incomes above the tax threshold,
such as the Child Tax Credit).
Tax Policy. Using tax system to effect policy
outcomes (use of tax benefits/credits as a social policy instrument).
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
The means-tested cash assistance program, that replaced AFDC as
of 7/1/97. Benefit levels vary by state, beneficiaries are required
to go to work within two years of claiming the benefit, receipt
of cash assistance is limited to a lifetime maximum of 5 years
overall. The benefits are funded through block grants to states
giving states great flexibility in program design.
Third Party Payment. Direct financial compensation
to service provider or agency to reimburse for services rendered
to the client/ consumer (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance
coverage of medical/ mental health services).
Title XX (of the Social Security Act) - Also
known as Social Services Block Grant. First enacted in 1975 and
subsequently amended. The only non-categorical federal funds for
personal social services. (Covers programs such as day care for
low income mothers, child abuse prevention and treatment services
and some services to homebound elderly.)
Title XXI (of the Social Security Act) .
State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enacted in 1997,
expanding health insurance coverage for children in low-income
families and expanding the federal share of the costs of this
federal/state program.
Trust Funds. Percentage of payroll taxes
held in "trust" accounts to meet projected actuarial analysis
of what OASI (Old Age and Survivor's Insurance), DI (Disability
Insurance), and HI (Medicare) needs will be. Usually equal to
what is needed to pay out OASI benefits for one year.
Unemployment Insurance (UI) Social insurance
benefit that protects workers against loss of income due to involuntary
and temporary job loss, financed through a payroll tax paid by
employers. Established as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.
Administered at the state level. Benefits vary across states.
Universal Benefits or Services. Eligibility
based on criteria other than income. (Medicare and OASI are prime
examples of Universal programs.) Although available regardless
of income, they may be contingent on employment record. They may
be in cash, such as family allowances, or in kind, as with the
provision of education. Vouchers. A form of demand subsidy (e.g.,
food stamp, Medicaid) which functions as a cash equivalent for
the purchase of specified goods/services. They provide more freedom
of choice than a specific service but less than a cash benefit.
WIC (Supplemental Food Program for Women,
Infants and Children.) Vouchers issued by U.S. Department of Agriculture
to provide for the nutritional needs of low income women, infants
and young children. (Seen as a way to protect against birth defects
caused by low birth weight, etc.)
Youth. A non-consistently defined age group
internationally and in the U.S. Sometimes describing adolescents
aged 13-19 and sometimes older young people from age 15-24.
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