Racialization of Poverty in the Welfare System

Format: Essay (subheadings may be used but only if in APA format; and paper should still flow smoothly as an essay) Page length: 8-10 pages Students will do a final term paper on how social welfare policies and programs affect the well-being of a specific group of people in the Canadian context, for example, youth without a fixed address, children living in poverty, older/senior people, the working poor, Indigenous peoples subgroups, persons who identify as TsLGBTQ+, persons with disabilities, or people who have recently immigrated to Canada or asylum seekers. It is expected that students will continue to read about and research their topics post-annotated bibliography. It is recommended that students clear their proposed topics with the instructor to make sure they are on the right path. Your final essay should address the following, in order (make sure to not use sub-headings, but judiciously; focus on writing the transitions between ideas and paying attention to the flow of your paper; and remember that headings/subheadings must be in APA format): A scholarly introduction that explains the topic and thesis of your paper, including in-text references from your research process: First, provide a description of the specific group of people you have chosen to examine in the Canadian context. Who makes up this group? Why is it important for us to examine this social policy area? Include some data about how this problem is affecting this group (for example, perhaps you are looking at homelessness and youth – how many people does this involve in Canada or Ontario according to the research?). It is good to use statistics here, but make sure they are the most current statistics available (and do not rely on the text statistics). It is also good to mention what level of government is responsible for the specific policy/policies you will be discussing. Next, discuss the specific social policy or policies that are involved in this situation for your chosen group. Do not discuss social services or social work with this group—keep your focus on social welfare policy. For example, if discussing minimum wage policies and their role in income security/poverty, you can discuss some of the social policy debates include what is needed for an adequate standard of living versus the needs of small businesses and their ability to pay higher wages as part of the complexity of this establishing this a provincial policy. Next demonstrate some knowledge about how this specific group has historically been affected by particular social policies. Make sure to demonstrate some understanding of the programs and services that have been designed for this specific population and by whom are they offered. You should be able to reference the historical social welfare content covered in class in this section. Make sure to consider and directly integrate some of the readings about the history of social welfare module as it applies to your topic specifically. Next, explore the theoretical foundations of social welfare in relation to your topic. Identify some of the assumptions, implicit or explicit, in these social policies, programs and services. You should be using content from the first 5 weeks of the course here (and anywhere else it applies, but especially here), for example, social welfare values, perspectives on social welfare, ideologies, political orientations, etc. Next, examining the scholarly literature your researched for your annotated bibliography and since then, summarize the knowledge you researched about your topic. Make sure to not go article-by-article, but rather summarize and synthesize what the academic literature says about your topic. Also, make sure to research and discuss how the social welfare of this population is impacted considering gender, disability, sexual orientation, 'race,' and class. For example, if you are discussing income inequality, are there some groups of people that are more vulnerable to poverty or low-income wages as a result of their social location? Your conclusion should re-state your thesis and main ideas from your paper. Do not discuss recommendations—stay focused. Note: It is important that you write a social welfare paper, not a social work paper. For that reason, it is recommended that you focus solely on your thesis/question and avoid reviewing what social services exist for your topic area or making any recommendations. You will not have done enough research at this stage to do this well and therefore it is not expected or recommended. You will need all of the space you have in this short paper to address your thesis/question.