Question 1

The federal government uses a statistic called the poverty threshold to define poverty. The national average poverty line in 2012 was $23,050 for a family of four and $11,170 for an individual.

Accepted Answer

The poverty threshold, also known as the poverty line, is indeed used by the federal government to define poverty, and the figures provided for 2012 match historical data for the poverty threshold in the United States for that year.

Question 2

Congress abandoned AFDC in 1996 with passage of a new welfare reform act called the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which stipulates that adults have up to two years to find a job without losing benefits and a lifetime limit of five years to receive benefits. Recipients must also work a minimum of 20-30 hours per week.

Accepted Answer

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, introducing work requirements and time limits on benefits as described.

Question 3

Social welfare programs developed later in the United States than in Western European nations and rely more on state-by-state and non-profit organizations to deliver services.

Accepted Answer

The development of social welfare programs in the United States occurred later than in many Western European nations, and the U.S. system places a greater emphasis on state-level administration and the involvement of non-profit organizations in delivering social services, compared to the more centralized approaches often found in Europe.

Question 4

Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the escalating health care problem had forced most states to

Accepted Answer

Prior to the Affordable Care Act, many states took it upon themselves to address the escalating health care problems by initiating reforms, experiments, and innovations tailored to their unique circumstances, rather than waiting for federal action or relying solely on the private sector.

Question 5

The least healthy states tend to be located in the

Accepted Answer

The least healthy states in the United States tend to be located in the South, according to various health rankings and reports that consider factors such as obesity rates, access to healthcare, and prevalence of diseases.

Question 6

State and local governents are allowing TANF and other programs to pay a part of day care expenses for welfare recipients who qualify.

Accepted Answer

State and local governments often use funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and other sources to help eligible welfare recipients cover part of their daycare expenses, facilitating their ability to work or attend training/education programs.

Question 7

Of the following, which was  not  one of the lessons learned by early-implementing ACA-health-insurance-exchange states?

Accepted Answer

The lesson learned was not to rely solely on government contractors for creating and maintaining the health care website. Successful implementations often involved a mix of government oversight, private contractors, and sometimes contributions from non-governmental organizations to ensure a broad range of expertise and accountability.

Question 8

Medicaid is a health care system for America's seniors that spent more than $390 billion in 2011, which is about 22 percent of the average state budget.

Accepted Answer

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health coverage to people with low income, including some low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities. Medicare, not Medicaid, is the program specifically designed for seniors. Medicaid spending and its percentage of state budgets can vary, but the description conflates details about Medicaid and Medicare.

Question 9

Poverty in the states varies greatly, from a high in New Mexico, where 21.4 percent of the state's population is categorized as officially poor; to New Hampshire, where 9.6 percent of the population is categorized as officially poor.

Accepted Answer

The poverty rates in the United States do indeed vary significantly by state, with some states like New Mexico having higher rates of poverty, while others like New Hampshire have much lower rates, reflecting the diverse economic conditions and living standards across the country.

Question 10

The nation's fragmented social welfare policy is a reflection of shifting conservative and liberal control of Congress, the presidency, state houses, and the inherently controversial nature of redistributive policies that seek to take income from one population group to give to another.

Accepted Answer

The fragmented nature of the United States' social welfare policy can indeed be attributed to the fluctuating control between conservative and liberal forces within Congress, the presidency, and state governments, alongside the contentious nature of redistributive policies that aim to reallocate income from one group to another. These dynamics lead to varying priorities and approaches to social welfare, resulting in a patchwork of policies that reflect the ideological and political shifts over time.

Question 11

States and localities are important innovators in social welfare policy and the governments closest to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged.

Accepted Answer

States and localities often serve as "laboratories of democracy," experimenting with social welfare policies tailored to the specific needs of their populations, which can lead to innovative solutions for addressing poverty and disadvantage.

Question 12

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)was created in 1974 by combining three existing programs: Old Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind, and Aid to the Disabled.

Accepted Answer

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was indeed created in 1974 to replace and consolidate these three existing programs: Old Age Assistance, Aid to the Blind, and Aid to the Disabled, aiming to provide financial support to individuals who are elderly, blind, or disabled and have little to no income.

Question 13

Medicare is a health care program jointly funded by the national and state governments for the poor. Medicaid is a federal health care program for people over sixty-five.

Accepted Answer

Medicare is a federal health care program primarily for people over sixty-five, while Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs for some people with limited income and resources.

Question 14

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)was included in the Social Security Act of 1935. Its original purpose was to provide financial aid to children whose fathers were deceased. By the 1990s, most of the payments were to single-parent families in which the father was alive but seldom involved in the child's life.

Accepted Answer

The AFDC program, established by the Social Security Act of 1935, was initially designed to support children whose fathers had died. Over time, the program's focus shifted, and by the 1990s, it primarily served single-parent families where the father was often absent but alive.

Question 15

Behavioral dependency means that poor people become dependent on government for their economic well-being by reason of their own choices.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Behavioral dependency means that poor people become...

Question 16

Children are not as vulnerable to being poor because of the divorce rate dropping from 90 percent to around 10 percent today.

Accepted Answer

Children's vulnerability to poverty due to divorce is not directly related to the divorce rate percentage drop; it's influenced by various factors including economic conditions, parental support, and custody arrangements. The stated drop from 90% to around 10% is also inaccurate; divorce rates have not been that high or dropped that drastically.

Question 17

In 1996, President Clinton made good on his promise to "end welfare as we know it" by signing a law that eliminated the largest welfare program-Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). This program was replaced with a new program called TANF.

Accepted Answer

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, signed by President Clinton, replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, fundamentally reforming federal welfare policy.

Question 18

There are more than 45 million people, or about 14.5 percent, living officially below the poverty line in the United States in 2013.

Accepted Answer

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013, there were indeed more than 45 million people living below the poverty line in the United States, which represented about 14.5 percent of the population at that time.

Question 19

Which state's health care reform package served as a model for the Affordable Care Act (ACA)?

Accepted Answer

Massachusetts' health care reform, implemented in 2006 under Governor Mitt Romney, served as a model for the Affordable Care Act. It included an individual mandate to purchase health insurance and established state-run insurance exchanges.

Question 20

The healthiest states tend to be located in the

Accepted Answer

North Central and Western states often rank high in health metrics due to factors like lower population density, higher levels of physical activity, and better access to healthcare.

Quiz 17: Social Welfare and Health Care Policy: Addressing Poverty and Sickness