5.6 Key Takeaways and Discussion Questions
Included in this section are tools for the reader to refresh and retain the knowledge. A Key Takeaway serves one of three purposes:
- highlighting an especially complex aspect of the chapter;
- summarizing an overarching idea; or
- emphasizing an idea that invites the reader to think about it more deeply, to connect to life experiences, and/or additional learnings.
Discussion Questions are recommended for individual reflection or class discussion.
Key Takeaways
- There is a tension between the residual and the institutional view of social welfare in the United States, resulting in a more realistic view, the developmental approach.
- Social problems have existed for decades or even centuries, but many of these have also lessened in their seriousness over time, and change in the future is indeed possible.
- Social safety net programs and social insurance programs help people to maintain a decent standard of living.
Discussion Questions
- Select an example of a “private trouble” and explain how and why it may reflect a social problem in society.
- What makes poverty a social problem?
- Have you participated in any volunteer or other activity involving a social problem? If so, why did you do so? If not, why have you not participated in such an effort?
- What other social safety net programs do you know of that have some biased language around them that you can think of growing up? How have you unlearned that? What do you need to continue to unlearn?
Comprehension Check
Licenses and Attributions
Open Content, Original
“Key Takeaways and Discussion Questions” by Elizabeth B. Pearce is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Revised by Martha Ochoa-Leyva.
Open Content, Shared Previously
“Continuity and Change in Social Problems” by Anonymous, Social Problems: Continuity and Change is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Adaptation: edited for clarity and for application to human services; added images.
Figure 5.8. “Protest against a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage” by Fibonacci Blue is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Figure 5.9. “Parliament House Canberra” by Sam Ilić is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0.
social welfare programs are human rights and will always be a part of our society
well-being
social welfare programs are a necessary part of social and economic development
a group of programs that take into account any contributions that the beneficiary has made to the program and may be considered preventative in nature.
any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed. Multiple factors contribute to the complexity of social problems. Typically the solution to the problem needs to be systemic in nature; in other words, it cannot be solved by any one individual.
the state of lacking material and social resources needed to live a healthy life