Obama Seeks Freeze on Many Domestic Programs - NYTimes.com-Required Reading

I found this article very interesting to read. I support the President and I understand that he is doing all that he can to run this country and reduce our deficit. However, is it necessary to freeze spending in other programs that need funds? I read that education would be one of the programs would be education. Education is an area that needs money for better schools, highly qualified teachers and better learning opportunities for all students. The military forces are an important part to protect this country. However, there is already enough spending in military operations. Regardless I support President Obama and what he is trying to do for this country. There are so many people expecting him to make a miraculous turn around overnight for this country but improvements will take time.

The Art of Advocacy: Advocacy Handbook

This handbook was very effective. The handbook gives positive and helpful tips on what steps to take when advocating. In social work it is important to advocate for clients but it is also important to know exactly what to do in order to get the message across. With the guidelines of advocating, organizations are able to make the public aware of issues, build relationships with policy makers, and amend policies. An advocate stands for those who cannot stand for themselves. It is important to have the tools and insights to make a change. With advocating, it is important to know who is in government positions and who can benefit the mission. It is important to gather information about the mission so that policy makers are able to understand the work of the program. Organization should unite with other organizations with the same mission. It is essential for organizations to have a goal of the issue, target, message, messengers, partners who share the same mission, tactics, and action to advocate. Writing letters is another useful way of advocating. Emailing is become a major useful tool in advocacy, however some individuals still prefer phone calls.

Cookies and Posters

Policy class today consisted of the poster presentations. The project included constructing our own National Budget Stimulation. We were all instructed to place our posters on the wall to be viewed. This gave everyone the opportunity to view every peer poster. Everyone did a marvelous job and the poster looked wonderful. This was the first poster and for the first one, the effort was great. No one achieved over the other because everyone had minor flaws and excellent points to make. Participating in this project at first, I was a little irritated. I realized that creating a budget for the entire country is a complex job. My values include fairness and I wanted to support almost every issue but it was impossible. This is because I could not necessary maintain complete fairness or balances the way I wished to. Also my mind constantly stayed on the nature of the deficit. My major area was education because I believe with education we could possible be a better country. A degree is incredibly important today. With higher education, this calls for better jobs and better opportunities. Higher education can possibly pull plenty of families out of the low income area. More money should be placed to build better schools especially in poor areas so that children in these areas can have just as a better education as children in high income areas. Community colleges should be supported so that individuals from low income families can have a better opportunity to attend college. I focused on Community and Regional Development where rural communities can attain more jobs, job training, job services, and public services. There were many areas to touch with this budget but not everything could be sited on the poster. The poster speaks for itself but also there were plenty of things that I came across or research that I never knew. There were many things that I learned from this poster that I could have talked about. There was no possible way to just slap something on a poster with this project because one way or another we are all effected but this project. The budget affects all of us as being college students. With this project you had to stop and think about things as least once. Most importantly values and lifestyles are deeply rooted somewhere. The cookies and walking around to view the posters gave it an exhibit touch. ;-)

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Tragic Consequences- Detention of Haitian Asylum Seekers

The article was a great read. The article focused a lot about the discriminating and harsh policies the people of Haiti had to encounter. The article comes at a time when the people of Haiti are already dealing with the devastation the earthquake let behind. The article really gave me more insight into the issues the people of Haiti haven been dealing with. It is not fair to accuse or assume that people are automatically a risk to national security because they fit a certain description of another terrorist. It was a harsh punishment to separate families and place people in harsh conditions. There were Haitians who stood for justice and went on hunger strikes because they knew it was wrong to be treated the way that they were. It was difficult to read that the children of Haiti were restricted from being simply children. They could not go out and play or become involved in other recreations. No matter if its American citizens or immigrants, everyone deserves to be treated as an individual and not an animal.

Screaming for Help

I was sadden to hear about the earthquake disaster in Haiti. My prayers and thoughts really go out to everyone there and their families. When watching the news segments, my mind quickly went back to Hurricane Katrina. There were people walking the streets in search of food and pure water. There were people crying out about their family members that were gone and those that they could not find. Relief is slowly moving in and troops from the U.S are being shipped out. Organizations should as the Red Cross are providing services and relief for Haiti. Rapper Wyclef Jean, who is from Haiti, is conducting a text message system where people can text to a number and $5 can donated to the organization through their phone bill. President Obama has ask former President Clinton and President Bush to contribute to the relief funds. Internet sites such as Facebook are participating in helping with the relief. There are sites available for those seeking missing family members. Aid workers have been flown in Haiti gathering children, families, and creating safe havens. Aid workers are scrambling for clean water as well. Working with the relief can be difficult, a worker may have to also be concerned of their own safety. It is tragic to watch it unfold on television. Haiti will have to heal from this nightmare, more help will still be needed. Haiti will need more funds, pure water, food, medical care and possibly emotional help for those during this time. I plan to donate money to the relief to help, I hope other peers plan to help as well.

The Tortoise and the Hare

Today I attended my social policy class and I got the chance to start on my newsletter. I was not expecting the template to be as nice as it looked. I think that I am excited to see how it comes out. It would be really nice if it could come in color. Whenever there is alot to do I start to feel very anxious and antsy. I feel this way because my mind seems as if it is racing a thousand miles per hour. I am constantly thinking to myself, "I have to do this then do that." I want to jump at every assignment all at once and I want to finish every assignment all at once. Once I start something, I really cannot stop to finish it at another time. I try to pace myself and complete every assignment at all a time. But it does not work. I find myself a little overwhelmed and I have to calm myself down. This happens everytime but honestly I feel that it keeps me on my toes. I am able to finish things on time and in a better fashion. However, I am extremely exhausted after it is all done. I am learning to manage time more and give myself the opportunity to relax before jumping on every assignment. I think I spent from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. that night in one spot working on things. I know that it is bad but that is just how I work. Whenever I am in this zone, it still seems that I am still working slower and not enough. Improvements & time management---------> In progress.

Class Act

I attended my Social Work Policy class today. I had the opportunity to look more into the projects that the class and I will have to participate in. I am feeling confident that I will be able to take on the assignments and projects that are required. It will take a little more time to learn the new sites and understand everything that needs to be done. Some of the project are going to be very interesting. The projects and assignments give the opportunity to display creativity and it is a better way of learning about policy. I am sort of looking forward to the scrapbook. I have never done a scrapbook before. My instructor advised us to sign up for this blog journal. I must admit that I really enjoy it. I have the opportunity to voice my opinion if required and I think that it is a great way to practice my "writing" skills. This site also gives me the opportunity to speak up about what I have learned. This year has started well and I am very proud of myself of reaching this point in my life. I have accomplished so much and I know things will continue to climb. I am very proud of my peers, some of them I started with and I am excited to see them accomplish so much as well. I have great confidence in them. Off to a great semester!------>

Why is Policy Important-Video Summary-Pop Quiz 1

Policy is important because it affects how a social worker creates a helping relationship with their clients. Social workers need to know how policies affect their practice with their clients. A Entitlement Program is a program where the government gives a person financial services or benefits. There are two types of entitlement program characteristics which makes up an entitlement program. The first characteristics is the benefit or service deemed a legal right. The second characteristic is the funding to pay for benefit is provided without Congress help. Entitlement Programs are important because they are the center of US social policy. Entitlement programs are considered the larger social programs of the US. They are considered the major law for social workers to know. There are five major categories of programs under the Social Security Act of 1935. The first is the Social Insurance Programs, these programs provide cash benefits alleviate the lost of earnings. The second, Federal Assistance Programs, these provide cash benefits to protect the elderly and other groups against poverty. The third, Medicare, protects the elderly for medical care. The fourth, Medicaid, provides health insurance assistance program for low income families and individuals. This aids with medical care and covers all children but not many poor adults. The last is foster care, provides funds for the neglected and abused removed from their homes. There are two Entitlement Programs in legislation other the Social Security Act. The first, Food Stamps, provides food for the poor and the near poor. The second, Earned Income Tax Credit Program, a refundable tax credit for low income families. There are loop holes in the entitlement programs. There are missing health care for everyone, child and family allowance, maternity and paternity benefits, Worker's benefits, and housing allowances. AFDC was changed to TANF-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families-this was the focus of welfare reforms.

Understanding Generalist Practice- Chapter 4

This chapter discussed the use of macro practice skills while working with a community or organizations. Macro Practice involves focusing on perplexed social issues and global policies. It involves changing the larger environment that can benefit the individuals and families. Social workers intervene in this area to effect social change. Social workers are able assess a community’s needs and what actions need to be taken. The social worker is able to focus on the target population. Most importantly rapport can be established between the worker and the community. Social workers and the community or organizations can work together to influence decision makers about issues. Petitioning can be an effective way to persuade decision makers about particular issues. There are so many issues that can be addressed in larger groups. Growing up in my community, I have realized that there is not much education on health and nutrition. I grew up in a black community and in the grocery stores where I shopped there was not many choices on healthier foods. Now I do most of my grocery shopping in other areas and in the larger food markets. I would often find a wider range of healthy choices of foods there than in my community. Another issue with attaining healthier foods is that many people in my community do not have the transportation to travel to other areas for better foods. With the black community having a higher risk of developing health issues, it is important to understand nutrition, exercise, and eating a healthier diet. Obesity is considered prevalent amongst African American children. Some programs are striving to teach the community more about health and exercise. Farmer markets are open that sale fresh vegetables and fruits in the community. However more has to be done. First Lady Michelle Obama has taken on a project to create a fresh vegetable/fruit garden outside of the White House. The purpose of the garden is to set an example for all families to eat healthier and to get children more involved in growing their own food. The garden also sets an example to low income families who are more tempted to purchase cheaper processed food.

The Dynamics of Social Welfare Policy-Chapter 1

I think that it is important to understand the policies that we work under as well as who are the people that are creating them and modifying them. Policies can hinder how a social worker works with a client. Policy can make it hard on a social worker to work with a client. Some social issues are difficult to handle because of the policies behind them. Some programs may lack in funds, resources, or how to handle the issue. There are several factors of why a policy may change. It may range from the economy, the government, politics, and most importantly…social workers! A social worker’s job is to advocate for all clients and stand against social injustice. Reading chapter one made me think of the country’s laws and debates that social workers may face. The hottest debate is the health care reform bill. The Health Care Reform calls for improving health care services, expanding the population that receives health care, provide better access to a health care provider, and affordable health services. The debate consists of the right of health care and who should have access to it. The United States is considered to be the wealthiest nation without universal health care. More social workers should evaluate their views and thoughts about the health reform. This should be given thought because it may affect some of their work ethic. Social workers should think about how the health reform would affect their clients. Workers should advocate pushing for patient care, patient protection, and affordable health care for clients.

Oreo Video

This video really gave me better insight into the issues of the United States. I was able to better understand what the government was doing with the citizen’s money. I always watch the news on the topics and it is so easily to get caught up in other people’s opinion. I have always thought that it was important to provide more money for schools. I understand that it is important also to protect our country as well. But growing up in a black community, I have experienced what can happen when a good education is not given or received. When I was in high school, I knew of many students who dropped out of school or just did not care about school. But now that I am in college, I see those same friends that wished that they could have finished high school and attended college. Most people still want to attend school but just do not have the money or knowledge of what to do. I think that education should start in the early part of a child’s life. With all the debate surrounding President Obama, I really like the fact that he is focus on developing early education. The Head Start programs meet the needs of many children and families. I truly believe great education and character starts at home. Head Start provides quality care and services for child and family development. With these programs, studies show that children benefit in the long term and they provide better home environments. I was in Head Start with I was very young.