1. Providing A Safety Net
In this lesson, students will identify the various ways the United States’ government attempts to combat poverty.
Students will be able to define and/or identify the following terms:
Welfare
Cash Transfers
In-Kind Benefits
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
Social Security

2. During the Great Depression, many
Americans suffered. Poverty rates
increased.

3. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
tried to alleviate the problem by
creating programs to help the poor
and elderly.

4. Welfare
Welfare is a general term that refers to government aid to the poor.
It includes many types of redistribution programs.
Tax dollars are used to provide income and services to eligible poor people.

5. Those below the poverty threshold are
considered poor.

6. Cash Transfers and In-Kind Benefits
The government provides cash transfers and in-kind benefits to people in need.
A cash transfer is a direct payment of money to eligible poor people.
An in-kind benefit is a good or service provided to eligible poor people for free or at greatly reduced prices.

7. Social Security provides cash transfers
to the elderly, the disabled, and the
orphan.

8. Food stamps and legal aid are examples
of in-kind benefits. Eligible poor people
are provided with food or lawyers.

9. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
Today, the federal government provides money to state governments.
State governments must design and run welfare programs.
States must adhere to federal rules that create work incentives and establish a lifetime limit for benefits. In the past, there were no limits.

10. Eligible poor people receive benefits
for a limited period of time. While
they receive benefits, they are being
trained to reenter the workforce and
become independent.

11. The goal is independence.

12. The Goal of Welfare Reform
The goal of welfare reform is to help people in need by providing them with financial assistance as well as opportunities to become independent.
Limits exist on welfare to ensure that people are trained and encouraged to reenter the workforce.

13. The government’s helping hand ensures that Americans have a safety
net in difficult times.

14. Questions for Reflection:
What is welfare?
Why does welfare exist?
What is the difference between cash transfers and in-kind benefits?
How does Temporary Assistance to Needy Families differ from past welfare programs?
What is Social Security?