Essay Example on Community-Based Programs: A Modern Social Welfare Approach in Canada

Introduction

One of the modern social welfare approaches used in the global context is the use of community-based programs to address the social needs of the society being observed. The programs are based on the needs identified as needing redress in society over short and long terms. In Canada, community-based programs have been identified as institutional models of social work. Protection of the most vulnerable people in the society and improvement of the economic abilities of all Canadians through the reduction of the inequality gap is currently being pursued in different social work interventions (Shookner, 2002). By consistently making these activities integral in social work in the nation, the improvement of the lives of most Canadians, such as in Alberta, is being witnessed.

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The use of community-based programs can be witnessed in Alberta, which is a region in Canada that has a growing disparity gap. Social workers have been proposing a new policy paradigm where they seek to narrow the gap between the wealthy and the poor by trying to urge for redistributed income. Social work basically aims to improve the lives of people. Therefore, through community programs, ways to redistribute opportunities are ensured. Distributing them subsequently creates a mechanism in which the reduction of inequality is ensured. Handling the matter institutionally allows the social workers to broaden commitments of welfare with organizations and government (Gamble, 2012). Some of the community programs that have so far been witnessed to be fruitful are social groups that help in sharing resources and exploring social justice. These, as witnessed, have been at the frontline of restoring and promoting human relationships and bridges the diversity gap, giving protection to those people who are considered vulnerable.

Through community-based programs, citizen expression itis ensured. People are allowed to make their inputs in what they think would be the best mechanisms for alleviating their lives. Through such activities in Canada, for instance, increased participation of women in the labor force is being witnessed. The changes which are considered radical have been made under clearly-set visions with the desired outcomes being bridging the gap between earnings of different diversity groups (Vaalavuo, 2013). In Alberta, collaborative mechanisms have been used to decide community-based programs that would help in alleviating the living conditions of the vulnerable populations and ensuring the inclusion of all in community activities.

National Children's Agenda Analysis

The National Children's Agenda Discussion paper presents a new dimension of viewing children in Canada. Phillips & Echenberg (2000) present a view of children, especially those from families that live in poverty, as needing to be socially protected in a closer manner by all the levels of the Canadian government. From an inclusion perspective, Phillips & Echenberg present a groups of technocrats and individuals who should work alongside governments to protect the children. Among the presented groups are child and family policy and service providers, social services, education representatives, health professionals, and justice (Phillips & Echenberg, 2000). All these groups working together with various levels of government would help children who do not receive the services that children across Canada should enjoy. While all children are guaranteed to receive services that should be fulfilling and should help them live healthier and better lives

Different parties are being included in the children's agenda to provide an exact outlook of children and what needs to be one to ensure that they are safe in the United States. The safety of children encompasses several issues. It entails completely understanding their situations and enabling them to reach the desired levels of living. The inclusion of different groups of experts will offer social priorities to governments and help them review current situations and plan for the future in a more concise way (Phillips & Echenberg, 2000). Moreover, the expertise groups provide a connection between the government and communities as they are voluntary, can operate in an accountable and transparent manner and their engagement allows them to offer new perspectives on the services children deserve that would help them to lead happier and safer lives especially those who live with disabilities, come from backgrounds that are poor or aboriginal people.

The inclusion benefits all children in Canada with children from vulnerable populations suffering most. Working among the included groups does not just happen as mere consultation. Instead, real engagements have been witnessed, and participants have created children agenda forums that satisfy the principles of children's wellness, which among them are accessibility to children programs, portability of the desired services such as health and schooling (Phillips & Echenberg, 2000). Evidence-based result documentations have proved that the livelihoods of children across Canada and, most importantly, among the aboriginal societies have improved, resulting from the inclusion agendas. The benefits of the inclusion agenda can, therefore, be effectively seen as guaranteeing the concerns of children, and thus, they need to be stressed more.

Alberta Social Policy Framework

As a citizen, the social policy frameworks of Alberta shed such a great light on how human dignity is considered in the region. The policy entails the principles of citizen engagement, accountability, and transparency. These frameworks focus on making every citizen who lives in Alberta to be respected. They are directed towards ending inequality and providing comprehensive quality services to the people (CSW Social Policy Framework, 2010). The basic goal of every citizen is to be provided with living conditions that can suffice their wellness. From the social policy adopted in Alberta, the citizen is viewed to have an instrumental impact on the development of person-centered partnerships that involve the locality. The documents, therefore, are helpful to a citizen as they make them understand their role in improving their lives.

For a social worker, the policies in Alberta showcase the need for a more person-centered provision of care to citizens. Indeed, the framework offers a dimensional change where social work moves from the perspective of only healthcare to matters that entail the general life of a person. The policy framework of Alberta covers everything that entails improving the conditions of the seemingly oppressed people. It delves into making them have progressive lives in healthcare, economics, and even in other social perspectives such as in education (Government of Alberta, 2013). To a social worker, the documents are helpful because they offer them a way of enabling more collaborations with society and creating partnerships aimed at improving the general wellness of the population. For a social worker, thus, the documents offer them an opportunity to lean better mechanisms of helping their societies thrive, socially, economically, and culturally.

For a social welfare analyst, the documents provide a broad perspective of helping societies with seemingly inconsiderate or weak social policies to make more advanced policies that reflect the needs of the people. Social welfare analysts should be interested in establishing dynamic changes, especially in places like Alberta, where the levels of inequality are high, and there are many vulnerable populations (Woodford & Preston, 2011). Social welfare analysts can provide information related to how close disparity gaps can lead societies to being more effective and provide better services to their people. Besides, this is to help them stabilize, become more functional, and see improved lives of all citizens areas where they are called upon to analyze social policy. The documents indicate that social policy changes in Alberta have been effective and would be effective for adoption by a social policy analyst as they gather information regarding how to change livelihoods in the localities where their services are needed.

Important Social Movements

Canada rises from a history of powerful social movements that have impacted on the way the nation handles different social affairs. The Suffrage movement of the 1920s and the LGBTTIQQ2SA movement are some of the two movements that have impacted the history of the nation. The suffrage movement underscores the rights of women in the nation to date. It was led by Nellie McClung, who was passionate about women and believed that for Canada to be a great nation, women had to be respected and given the same chances as men (Strong-Boag, 2016). McClung sought for universal suffrage in the economic as well as in the political spheres of the nation. The movement emerged victorious in 1929 when Canada finally allowed women to be voted in and sit in the senate, just like their male counterparts.

The suffrage movement, in a significant way, represents the LGBTTIQQ2SA movement. The latter sought for the rights of people who had long been oppressed based on their sexual orientations. Just like in the past where women were treated with contempt and not even allowed fundamental rights such as the right to vote, LGBTTIQQ2SA people were institutionally and socially discriminated. The first effort to argue for the rights of the LGBTTIQQ2SA did not bore fruit. However, years in the struggle and fighting for rights saw the acceptance of LGBTTIQQ2SA people in Canadian society (Lamoureux & Joseph, 2014). They were not just accepted but were legally protected by the law such that they could live freely and receive the same employment opportunities and services as every other Canadian.

Even though Canada has accepted LGBTTIQQ2SA through changes in social policy, the same has not been adequately reflected in all aspects, such as in the economic world. LGBTTIQQ2SA is still treated with contempt in several sectors, such as discrimination in employment. The need for rapid social policy interventions in the nation is vivid if at all, the group will find a fulfilling environment where they can work without being discriminated against. Recent reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation in Canada are witnessed. Though such reports are not many, there is a need for social interventions that seek to protect those who are threatened in a more instrumental manner.

Social Indicators: Canada in an International Context

Hicks (2008) highlights that one of the social indicators of social policy developments in Canada, which doubles in the international context, is the rise in the number of women in the labor force. By the time he wrote the article, the participation of women in the labor force had double from 34% to 68% (Hicks, 2008). The increased number of women in the labor force was an indicator of the rising acceptance of women as part and parcel of the labor force. However, it was an extreme rise that had left the population of men in the labor force at only 32%. The adoption of women in the Canadian labor force has been an issue since time immemorial, and this rapid rise in the number of women in the labor force.

Recent data regarding the employment of women in the Canadian labor force indicates that 47.7% of the employed people in Canada are women (Catalyst Research, 2019). It is a rapid drop from 68%, which was experienced in 2008. The rate, however, is not low. In comparison with current demographics, rates of employment of women are still high. Though they are slightly below 50%, which is the expected standard, the results indicate that women in Canada are ideally treated as important people in the society who make a...