Practices and Proposed Interventions of Dealing with Poverty
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Practices and Proposed Interventions of Dealing with Poverty
There are many reasons why poverty continues to remain a major issue in the country. Many of these reasons are interconnected. Therefore, one cannot propose a single solution to deal with the social problem of poverty. However, a closer examination of the causes and enabling factors of poverty can help to identify the most effective strategies that can help to reduce poverty. The strategies used can help those who are in poverty to solve their problems and they could be used as preventative measures that will reduce the chances of others entering into poverty. Preventive services in healthcare have show efficiency and effectiveness in their use. They have helped to reduce the occurrence of serious diseases and they have helped to reduce risky behaviors, injuries, and complications. Preventive services also help to promote healthy behaviors and environments (Task Force on Community Preventive Services, 2005). They point out the changes that need to be made and the behaviors that need to be adopted. Such services are also applicable in reducing poverty.
Most of the preventive services that concern poverty reduction are concerned with education and training. They ensure that people who are not already affected by poverty reduce their chance of doing so. Initiatives that will help students to stay in school are important in poverty reduction and most of them are preventive. They increase the chances that the students have of succeeding. Having a higher education is one of the ways of increasing a person’s economic success in future (Williams et al., 2008). Such strategies include providing financial incentives and academic support, scholarships, recreational programming, parental interventions in children education, offering special needs assistance, having flexible employment hours that will enable people to continue with their education, and after school programs that help to develop talent in different areas (Loewen, 2009).
Case management is a process that involves assessing, planning, implementing, coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating the available options and services that are necessary to meet the health and human service needs of individuals. The main elements include advocacy, managing of resources, and communication among all the parties involved. The approach is mostly used to integrate services around people’s needs. It is proactive and community based. This means that the service providers and the social workers understand the needs of individuals and the available resources within the community. Case management would be an effective approach to poverty reduction. Using this approach would require the policy makers to assess the social problem of poverty. This would lead to knowledge concerning the enabling factors and proposals concerning the best ways to handle the problem. The policy makers would have to plan on how to implement the proposed solutions. In addition, they will need to cooperate with other players including the community and other organizations.
Systematic interventions of poverty reduction require government participation in the development of policies that are aimed at reducing this social problem. Such interventions will require the cooperation of the community and the government for effective poverty reduction. Case management in social work emphasizes the need for collaboration. Effective case management requires interdisciplinary and inter-organizational collaboration and coordination (Corcoran & Roberts, 2015). When poverty reduction policies and programs are established by government authorities, the community will have the main task of implementation. The community plays an important role in terms of advocacy. It makes the government know of the prevailing problems. The government plays a major role in establishing policies related to fair work practices and fair wages. This is important in helping to improve the welfare of individuals. The government can reduce taxes that are levied on low-income households. This ensures that such households have more disposable incomes and they can afford to pay for education, health, accommodation, and other amenities. The government can establish policies that ensure that poor people have access to services such as education and health. Such services are mandatory and the government has the responsibility of ensuring that everyone can afford and access them. A healthy and educated populace is able to work.
A case management approach does not only focus on the clients problems, but it could also consider the individual strengths. The strength perspective using the case management approach emphasizes the strengths and the uniqueness of the situation. It also considers the needs and wants of the clients. Thus, it looks at the issue from all possible angles. It requires close collaboration between the client and the case manager (Berkman, 2003). Another benefit of this approach is that the case manager could equip the individual client and his or her dependents with the training and skills required to change their situation. This is important in the alleviation of poverty. Many poor people have dependents. Some of the dependents could be in the vulnerable population such as the elderly, disabled, and children. However, other dependents could have the capabilities to undertake various tasks. They could acquire skills that could help them in securing a job or managing the resources they have in a better way. The whole family does not have to depend on one person to change their financial circumstance.
Case management
approach to poverty reduction would ensure that the government collaborates
with the community as a way of ensuring effectiveness. The government can
provide the necessary resources in terms of finances, infrastructure, and
personnel. The community is more aware and knowledgeable of the prevailing
issues and its participation would ensure that the proposed plans are
implemented. Preventive services are important in ensuring that poverty rates
do not continue to increase in the country. Most of the preventive services in
poverty reduction are geared towards education and training.
References:
Berkman, B. (2003). Social work and health care in an aging society: Education, policy, practice, and research. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company
Corcoran, K., & Roberts, R. A. (2015). Social workers’ desk reference. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Loewen, G. (2009). A compendium of poverty reduction strategies and frameworks. Retrieved from http://tamarackcommunity.ca/downloads/vc/Poverty_Reduction_GL_042209.pdf
Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2005). The guide to community preventive services: What works to promote health? New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Williams, R. D., Costa, V. M., Odunlami, O. A., & Mohammed, S. A. (2008). Moving upstream: How interventions that address the social determinants of health can improve health and reduce disparities. Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 14, 8-17