Substance Abuse and Disability

Substance Abuse and Disability Name Course Instructor Date Public welfare for those with severe disabilities in America has expanded since the 1950’s with the focus on assistance payments the vulnerable group (DiNitto, 2012). Reforms over time have highlighted that the government ought to have minimal influence and should only help the very needy on a short-term basis (DiNitto, 2012). People associate disability with the inability to work, and there is some form of the stigma attached to be being disabled as they are seen as being dependent on others especially the state. There is a need for proof that a person with a disability cannot work for them to receive benefits. The current policies on disability require that it be the result of a medically determinable impairment (MDI), and in most cases this disqualifies those with substance abuse disorder and alcoholism (SSA, 2013). Substance dependence and other illnesses that are under a person’s control should be considered under the disabilities Act, but there should be limits on who receives benefits. Substance and drug abuse may be treatable in the short-term, but failure to address substance abuse increases the risk of mental diseases. It is necessary to consider the severity of the condition given that the condition that is debilitating should be considered first. Even though, people abusing drugs are likely to get the monthly payments, there is no clarity how disability and substance abuse are interconnected. Hence, the condition sunder control and substance abuse have caused irreversible damage to the mental or physical health of an individual, and then there is a valid claim for the payments. In many instances, people with disabilities and history of substance abuse live in poverty further worsening their situation, poverty is at times a root cause of disabilities, but the welfare system has not addressed. It is necessary to consider the impact of leaving out people with controllable conditions and substance disorders...