1) To better the quality of
life for people, to minimize poverty and suffering, and to take responsibility
for the injustice within society.
2) To reinforce societal responsibility
and strengthen connections on an individual level, as well as a familial,
group, organizational, and communal level.
3) To establish social welfare
services and programs, which answer the basic needs of people, and support
the self-development of man.
4) To further state services
and resources, through social and political action that guarantee and
further social and economic justice.
Welfare:
It’s a broad topic that encompasses
social work.
State welfare is established
in a State that takes responsibility and interferes in the free market
action, in order to provide the basic necessities of their citizens.
For example: income, sustenance, education, living, business, etc. This
is all necessary to further individuals, families, and communities.
State welfare and social work
are interwoven.
How so?
Both deal with the
confrontation and positive development of welfare issues.
Also helps individuals,
families, and communities deal with hardships.
The state defines
the role and the status of their social workers.
Changes in policy.
11/12/08
Sources of aid and support
that man can depend on:
Formal sources:
Third sector = non-profit and volunteer organizations, private business
sectors, the government, the office of welfare, national insurance.
Informal sources:
social networks within the community (for example, groups for parents
with children with special needs), the family unit, and the person himself.
State welfare exists in democratic
states that have free economic markets (private ownership of property
and manufacturing, motivated by the desire to gain more profit). Even
though the state is not involved in the free market, it is involved
in order to satisfy the needs of its citizens. The state has a responsibility
to ensure a bare minimum of certain social securities to its citizens.
For example: a minimum income, business, sustenance, medical treatment,
education, and housing. The state also has a responsibility to minimize
the extent of poverty and social gaps.
Characteristics and Components
of State Welfare (Doron, page 95):
Universal merit:
Services are provided
for everyone, no matter their economic status.
The question does
arise: Why not give a little bit to the majority of people, and then
give more to the minority that really needs it?
State welfare’s
goal is not to create perfect equality, but rather to ensure the bare
minimum to all.
State welfare is
not looking to harm capitalism or the free market, but rather it seeks
to correct the social distortions caused by capitalism.
The goals of State Welfare:
The promise of social
security to the population. To prevent and minimize poverty, and to
ensure a certain quality of life by preventing a sudden and abrupt decline
in the quality of life. Also, to better disperse the flow of income
throughout one’s lifetime. For example, help people establish pension
plans.
To minimize the
inequality, to aspire to social justice, to redistribute sources, and
to make the wealthier sectors of the population pay more and get less.
To cause social
integration, and to strengthen the dependent person’s self-image and
pride.
The Historical Development
of State Welfare:
The Period of Pre-Existence
(14th C – last 3rd of the 19th C)
The Period Before
It Became (the end of the 19th C – WWI)
The Period of Institutionalization
The Period of Growth
The Period of Skepticism
The Period of the
Crystallization a New Consensus
1) The period of Pre-Existence:
At this time the Church and
the community took responsibility for the poor and those in need.
For example: Industrialization,
urbanization, the disgraceful poverty, the famine, currency fluctuations,
the gaps in…?
In 1601 England passed the
Law of Poverty, which was an effort to give organized help to the poor.
It was an effort made on the part of ?. It highlighted the responsibility
of the community to take care of its poor, and to aid its poor.
The poor, of course, was expected
to work, in order to receive minimal aid. The poor were dependent upon
the community.
If a family when bankrupt,
the parents would be sent to a workhouse, and the children would be
sent to work that was appropriate for their physical strength and size.
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Wealthy communities did not
want to poor people to come into their communities. They viewed poor
people as dependent people who just wanted to be given more and more
and did not want to work hard. The only aid given to the poor, therefore,
was very minimal, and was only to encourage them to go out and work.
Work Houses:
When a family would reach a
point of desperation, the parents would work at work houses, while the
children were send to “appropriate” work places for children (which
oftentimes was work that had no purpose.)
“Poor people deserving:”
They would get a stipend after
intensive questioning and researching of their situations.
“Poor people not deserving:”
The investigation involved
in determining who would and would not be deserving of a stipend was
very strict, and therefore not many people were awarded the stipend.
Those not awarded were determined to be “lazy.” Regardless, the
stipend was not very much money. It was a bare minimum.
Social Darwinism:
The idea originated in America
and England at the end of the 19th C to the beginning of
the 20th C. The idea was that competition is natural, and
the stronger are supposed to succeed. Investing in the weak is a waste
of time; supporting the poor only increases their numbers.
From this the Correction of
the Poor Law úé÷åï áçå÷ äòðééí emerged…
1834
The conditions in
the work houses worsened
Aid to the poor
became a meager option that offered little
2) From the last third of the
19th C to the 20th C, the liberal approach that
dictates the government’s responsibility to protect the freedom and
property of the individual appears.
With this came the emergence
of social-democratic influences…
Citizens deserve personal freedom,
the freedom to unionize, security of personal property AND…rights
that are the basis of society, such as, a reasonable quality of life,
income, health, education, etc.
These rights can be ensured
through distribution of resources and opening social services.
This time period focused on
social legislation that never previously existed * the first social programs, laws in
the fields of health and education, the establishment of a welfare office,
etc.
Bismarck and Social Security:
Bismarck was the
German Chancellor in the 1880s.
Many credit his
social legislation to be the foundations of modern social welfare.
He began the trend
to focus on education, emotional wellbeing, etc, and slowly but surely
this trend spread to the other industrialized countries.
There were a number
of factors that contributes:
Industrial Revolution *
mass movement of the population to the cities * weakening of the social aid that pre-existed
Organization of
the workers *
professional unions, workers parties, Liberal Party of 1900, worker’s
right to choose: 1867 – for city workers, 1884 – for village workers
The development
and spreading of socialistic ideas * a critique on capitalism *
the desire for change!
Study of poverty *
spread awareness to the population
3) The Period of Institutionalization
This period was between WWI
and WWII. There was the Great Depression.
John Maynard Keynes:
A British economist
He believed that
government involvement during a time of depression was necessary and
desirable
At the same time President
Roosevelt was creating the New Deal programs (1933), which established
a social security system and created employment programs.
4) The Period of Breakthrough
This period was from the end
of WWII until the 1970s.
It was during this period that
the social-democratic approach broke through.
Why specifically now?
The War Experience:
After the destruction during the war, people wanted to build a new world
with values such as social justice, morality, concern for others, etc.
They felt a strong sense of responsibility to make the world progress,
and they believed that the government had a central role in accomplishing
all this.
Sense of social
solidarity, and the memories of the hardships they had during the economic
depression.
The political power
of the workers * The British Liberal party
Cold War *
The democratic states wanted to confront the security and social challenges
of the communist governments * The communists did not believe that
the state welfare programs of democratic states would solve the social
and economic problems of the workers
Economic growth
William Bridges (1942):
During the war,
Lord Bridges was appointed to a committee whose purpose would be to
start social programs that would respond to the population’s hardships.
The committee determined that the responsibility of providing social
services to the citizens was the responsibility of the state.
The points of the
committee’s report:
To fight shortages
and to eliminate poverty by creating strong businesses and establishing
a comprehensive social security system
The state must worry
for each person throughout their entire lives – from the day they
are born until the day they die
Emphasis on the
universality of the programs – everyone is deserving, everyone has
rights
What happened that made this
a breakthrough period?
Education is obligatory
(1944)
Benefits for children
(1945)
National health
law (1946)
Insurance for retirement,
illness, unemployment (1946)
Opening of personal
and communal services
5) The Period of Doubts and
Breaking
From the 1970s until the mid-90s.
What were the catalysts?
The awakening of
the Neo-Liberal movement, a new right wing, liberal, traditional movement.
The Western world
reverted back to former policy which dictated less governmental involvement
The economic growth
came to stop
This generation
did not remember the depression, the time before the economic growth,
and so they did not understand the importance of state welfare
The financial burden *
demographics changed and there was more elderly and unemployed
Weakening of social
solidarity
Change in economic
thinking *
begin to see a connection between economic growth and the high social
results *
the perspective was that when you invest a tremendous amount of money
into welfare, growth is being inhibited * they reasoned that the state needs
to focus on job training and encouraging the economic market
Feeling of revulsion
towards bureaucracy * complications, lack of efficiency,
etc. that make people feel that it’s not worth all the chaos it causes
Globalization
The end of the Cold
War
The rise of conservative
political parties (Neo-Liberals)
11/26/08
Globalization = the expansion
of political connections, cultures, economic exchange between countries,
and amiability throughout the world
Why would this process cause
problems for the social welfare movement?
In the case of globalization,
the state is forced to choose sides, for example, in terms of diminishing
expenditure in the public social realm.
The end of the Cold
War brought an end to the communist approach that was once upon a time
very significant in the socioeconomic plain. It was assumed that if
communism failed, then their approach must be faulty.
Harsh arguments
against social welfare were made. These arguments argued that welfare
created a passive/apathetic population that just waited for help instead
of helping themselves.
Another complaint
was made that social welfare created a weak social system, where the
people who need aid rely on the state help, and the people who are not
suffering feel no need to contribute and take responsibility.
The Neo-Liberal
approach died down, and the world reverted back to the traditional approach,
which advocated for minimal state involvement. This was executed by
Margaret Thatcher in England, and President Reagan in America (1980).
Nevertheless, social welfare
remained an entity.
What guarded/strengthened social
welfare despite all the opposition?
Opposition from
organizations, unions, etc.
Various countries
organized statistics that proved that most of the population was opposed
to the service cuts.
6) The Crystallization of the
New Consensus
Period from the mid-90s until
today.
Characterized by…
Speeding up the
ending of privatization processes
Minimizing the public
expenditure for social services
Aid provided in
work
How is Israel different than
the Western world?
Something in our
tradition causes us to have more social solidarity
Davka when there
was a reduction in social welfare in the Western work, in specific regards,
Israel’s social welfare was growing * for example: The Security and Aid
Law was passed, which caused great growth of therapy services in old
age homes for people with handicaps
In Israel there
was an acceleration of privatization, and the development of a parallel
services for the governmental system (?)
The pressure on
the unemployed to find employment increased
MISSING
Monikdam (2005), From Charity
to Rights:
Support and services
for the poor before the establishment of the state * 1945-1948
During this time
there was a changeover of authority from the Ottoman Empire to the British
Empire
Aid was provided
to the poor through charity boxes
As was being asked
throughout the world, the following questions were being asked in Israel:
What do the poor deserve? What are the rights of the unemployed?
The support services
for the poor were divided into 4 approaches:
“úåøúå àåîðåúå”
Work for the sake
of providing a living
Services founded
on the basis of being productive and providing rehabilitation
Services founded
on the basis of the social security principles
úåøúå àåîðåúå:
This approach reasoned
that it is necessary to fund the Torah learning in the community.
They lived through
their Torah learning. It was not a chessed, but rather a privilege.
Making a Living:
The public provided
aid to the poor, but related to him as a failure.
This approach was
a result of WWI and the problems that accumulated post-war.
Productive:
The value of work,
and oppositely, the importance of provided support to the poor.
1931: social work
department was established whose goal was to provide support for the
poor.
Social Security Principles:
The approach that
paralleled the relationship between the poor and the employed.
Nevertheless, Monikdam explains
that an essential change did occur in services to the poor at this time…
Poverty, until today,
is not related to as a problem of the individual alone, but rather a
social problem that the entire population must be aware of.
Therefore support
is related to as a right, and not a chessed.
It is possible that
a person really wants to succeed, but just cannot. Therefore the understanding
grew that there must be support for those who just were not capable
of working. Aid is the responsibility of the state authority, and not
just the community of the individual alone. It became apparent that
there was a need for a single bureaucratic system that would organize
the support.
12/3/08
Approaches of Value and Foundational
Categories
The Liberal Approach:
For example: America
and Canada
From here emerged
the beginning of social welfare * at the end of the 19th
C there were debates between many different opinions, political researchers,
etc. *
the main questions asked were…
What exactly is
a just and moral community?
Does the state have
the responsibility to provide aid to its citizens (to satisfy the poor)?
Does the state have
the responsibility to advocate and progress the ideas of equality and
social justice?
What are the responsibilities
of the citizens themselves? Is it just for them to rely on the state?
What are the basic
rights of citizens?
What is the role
of the family within the complexity of this all?
What is the responsibility
of the community, organizations, etc.?
This approach believes
that it is a primary role of the state to protect the freedom and property
of the individual, and very much opposes state involvement in the socioeconomic
realm.
This approach believes
that it is the responsibility of he citizens to ensure their personal
welfare, and in specific cases of need, the family or the community
can step in.
This approach relies
on the freedom of the citizens, and the belief that the citizens can
rely on themselves.
This approach believes
that it is immoral to take great amounts of taxes = to take money from
one citizen just in order to give it to another
MISSING NOTES *
notes I have are incomprehensible
The Social-Democratic Approach:
For example: Sweden
and Denmark
This approach values
liberal value, such as the protection of the freedom and property of
the individual, but also has additional values, such as the right to
a certain quality of life, a satisfying income, health, education, housing,
and reasonableness.
The state ensures
these rights by allocating sources (monetarily) and opening social services.
This approach advocates
for very comprehensive and extensive state involvement in the socioeconomic
realm. It is not just or possible for the individual, family, or community
to be concerned, alone, with these needs.
Why not?
These needs are
many and difficult to deal with
These hardships
are many, and they cause many different social problems that do not
directly depend on the public or the individual (?)
State involvement
gives people the opportunity for people to raise their heads out of
the water, or in other words, to raise their status a bit
State involvement
works to strengthen social solidarity
It creates a pleasant
climate for economic growth
12/10/08
Community Involvement:
Recruiting private
businesses to progress social interests * This phenomenon takes place in response
to the governments retreat from state welfare * As the government minimizes pensions
and withdraws from classic welfare processes, there is a vacuum, and
therefore new sources come into the picture * Social organizations seek different
ways of recruiting sources to alleviate the distress
Additionally, the
business world becomes more sensitive and aware of the poverty and hardships,
and therefore seeks involvement in helping the community
This causes a reciprocal
interest to help
The donations of
businesses also came in the active involvement form, and not just in
the form of monetary donations
The donations were
not conceived as mere charity from the business side, but rather as
a win-win relationship
The business side
gained:
An image of bettering
society
A bettered image
Increased motivation
A better business
environment
Social organizations
gained:
Resources
Time
Money
Work force
Information
Independence
Connections
Equipment
As social workers,
we have to be careful not to stray from the code of ethics which ranges
from the patient to the culture to the interests of the businesses *
Integrating interests of the community to businesses takes skills, work
techniques
This communal involvement
strengthens capitalism because the strong and wealthy are using their
strength and wealth to help the weak and poor
Business Initiatives
Projects started
by groups of people, who are interested in progressing business initiatives,
in order to minimize unemployment and to fix the economic situation
These business initiatives
happen through courses that train and teach groups how to solidify business
ideas, where to get loans, etc.
When social workers
enter the picture, bettering their self-image, strengthening resources
for individuals, the belief in change, confrontation with challenges,
become main goals
Changing Policies and Progressing
Legislation
This is a realm
that social workers are little involved with because the real place
of change would be in the Knesset * It is there that decisions are made,
policies are established, and there is real influence over these processes *
The Knesset, however, is out of reach for most social workers
Because of this,
social workers are oftentimes criticized as being conformists because
training institutions do not give enough information or means for their
students, future social workers, to change policies
Beit Izy-Shapira,
a body that works with children with special needs, established a social
coalition of 50 organizations that work with children with special needs *
The coalition was created because the larger the force, the larger they
could levy social change in the political realm * The coalition has existed a number
of years, and is run by Beit Izy-Shapira’s lawyers and social workers *
The work of the coalition was very complex, and therefore sought many
different skills * The coalition was able to accomplish
the following:
Allocation of professional
energies
Special medical
equipment
The message that
they CAN affect change!
Changes in this
realm are very connected to the social-democratic approach *
Satisfying the needs of these weak populations has to be rooted as rights
within the law * The role of social workers is to actualize
those rights
3 Roles of Involvement of Social
Workers in the Socioeconomic Plane:
How can we as social workers
strengthen our involvement and bright about socioeconomic change?
Expose socioeconomic
problems through communications
Read sources and
research that involves these ideas, in order to truly understand the
depth of social issues
Establish group
discussions
Psychosocial evaluations *
To integrate the psychological state of an individual to the political
and social environment
Familiarity and
exposure of communal projects and organizations involved with this kind
of work *
truly evaluate the different organizations that are connected to the
patient
Internal clarification
of personal perspective
Foundational Matters
Universalism Vs. selectivity
Selectivity, in regards to
state welfare, focuses on opening and giving services to the weakest
and poorest populations. Involves income. Works off the liberal approach.
Espouses the importance
of focusing services on specific populations so that they get more
Social services
provide economic resources, and therefore indirectly affect economic
growth *
Harming economic growth only increases poverty
A comprehensive
giving of services encourages dependency
Uniformity misses
the needs of every person
Universalism grants services
to the entire population, with no conditions involved. This approach
emphasizes the importance of governmental involvement in satisfying
needs. This includes wide legislation and abstention from boundaries.
Certain services in Israel practice universalism, such as education,
children pensions, and maternity leave.
If all the citizens
receive these services, then it is an anchored right rooted in the law
and not charity.
There is the danger,
however, that wealthy populations will oppose paying taxes for selective
situations. The collective/solidarity approach brings to prediction
the resources of the services. (?)
It establishes a
standard of appropriate income, and therefore people will prefer to
work in places that ensure this level of income.
Selective services
will cause people to declare unforced, and will also diminish the self-worth
of the person who declares. (?)
From the stance
of means, money is rising, in order to finance the system. (?)
The selective approach
establishes different systems for the poor and for the rich, and the
poor services take on a poor nature.
Social Legislation
There are differences
in the various state welfares because of the various social legislation
There are many services
that are not anchored in the law, and yet they are still accepted, such
as monetary aid to the elderly in institutions and assigning children
to institutions.
The main difference
between services that are anchored in the law and those that are not
is that those anchored in the law are subsidized.
Therefore those
would argue that these law-rooted services should be minimized. Their
arguments:
Expansive legislation
increases the control of the state
The citizen will
become dependent on these services
Harms the economy
to establish universal and uniform services
From the perspective
of professionals, the expansive legislation and universal approach minimizes
the personal aspects of the profession
In opposition to
that opinion, though:
Every citizen deserves
social services
Legislation promises
pensions to those who need it, and ensures that all is done in an equalistic
manner
Centralization and Decentralization
Centralization relates
to the responsibility of the government to open up social services and
to ensure expansive social legislation. The government should support
the resources of these social services, as well as the mechanisms to
control the services.
Lecture of Barbara Epstein:
Communal Advocacy
A place that helps
people confront the bureaucracy, and strengthens groups
This organization
is involved in two fields:
Cooperative = social
solidarity
Public accommodation
= rights
Is the problem rooted in the
outside or inside?
Why do we need advocacy?
A failure on the
individual level. People believe think they cannot receive their rights,
or they think that if they try and receive their rights, they will not
receive anything.
A failure on the
communal level because the communities are not blames for this fault.
A failure on the
political, legislative level because those involved in political and
legislation have a lack of information and understanding in regards
to social issues.
Our job is to empower the community.
Wisconsin Program
A program that functioned
as a trial in 4 parts of the country
Anyone who received
income insurance from a specified date in the law is not connected to
?, but rather to 4 private groups
Is it better that
there should be private social services? The way of measuring these
services’ success is by measuring how many people managed to get pensions.
Today we know that
few people were saved by these services.
The main problem
is that the mode of measurement caused them to be creative in their
programs, and the authority to chose who merited pensions became the
authority of individuals.
If society needs to step into
the shoes of state institutions, then she needs to be bent towards the
practices and policies of the state.
The collection of absorption
(mikbatz haklita) is the Absorption Ministry’s project that ensures
elderly immigrants housing. The collection is handled by private owners,
and elderly turn to them from the Absorption Ministry and Amidar Group.
Social workers had to deal
with…
Transference to
physical problems
Availability hours
The communication
between the collection owners and the residents were extremely defective
There was a lack
of certainty that there would be continued residence because the collection
owners were private owners
Bridging the communication
gaps between the residents and collection owners
Conclusions reached from the
project:
It is critical to
join forces with other organizations in order to ensure the welfare
of clients.
Private factors
do not believe that there is importance to cooperate with the residents
or to reach an agreement.
The integration
of private and communal methods.
Should we and how
can we motivate social workers and clients to act in the organizational
and public realms, in order to change policies in the legislative fields,
in order to decrease the burden that is place on social workers?
The Non-Formal Sector: The
Family:
There is the aspiration
to support the strengthening of the family system, and like the communal
approach to return the old system of family help.
Some say, however,
that although the family is very significant, we should not revert back
to old ways, and the state should still be at the center of welfare.
We should not be solely dependent upon the good will of the family because
oftentimes the family, as a system, lacks the emotional and economic
resources to aid. Oftentimes there is no support system, or an existing
social network. Also, oftentimes there is a lack of will to help.
State welfare was
established in the effort to prevent this kind of situation where someone
is lacking resources of aid.
Peterson: When the
state assumes responsibility, it detracts from every individual’s
personal feelings of responsibility towards others.
The perspective
that aspires to strengthen the family will come to fruition not only
though declarations, but also will oftentimes be rooted in legislation.
Katan: In various
state welfares there is the trend to strengthen the familial-communal
systems
Income or Business Insurance
Income insurance
seeks to instill a sense of security and a reasonable standard of living
to people, who due to various reasons, cannot work.
Over time unemployment
began and simultaneously tashlumay ha’avrah increased, and as a result
state welfare confronted a monetary issue.
Therefore an idea
became prevalent: aid in an active way by integrating these populations
into the work cycle. For example, subsidizing workers who will understand
unemployed people, financing professional training programs, opening
services, such as day care centers.
In favor of integrating
pensions with work: Someone who is continuously financed by the state
will become dependent, accustomed to receiving a pension, and this will
keep him – and his population – in this constant state of poverty.
Widespread pension giving can also cause damage to the state’s economy.
Against integrating
pensions with work: Hesitation regarding the impulsive components of
these programs. Work for these pension-receiving people is marginal,
and does not allow for personal development or escape from the hardships.
The people who established the Wisconsin programs argue that this creates
stigmas or parasites, and creates services that support only specific
populations.
The Governmental Services System
The National Insurance System
1953: The National
Insurance Law is passed
One of the foundations
of social and economic policies in Israel
The goal is to ensure
a network of security in the face of social and economic dangers. It
was established to ensure an economic foundation for the existence of
weak populations or families that are suffering from temporary or continued
hardships.
National Insurance
gives monetary pensions to the handicapped
National Insurance
grants rehabilitation services to the handicapped and aid to the elderly
Doron: Nation Insurance
is the central seed of modern day state welfare.
Peterson: We must
feel empathy towards the weak and poor. Who knows, we could be there
one day, too. The weak and poor need our help.
The first social security program
in Israel established by the Institution for Social Research of the
Histadrut during the War of Independence. This system was built on the
social security principles that were crystallized at the end of the
19th C. The hope was that the social security program would
overpower “the five giants in the war of hardship.” Those give giants
being poverty, illness, ignorance, housing, and idleness.
National Insurance is founded
upon “yisodot gavitim.”
The principles are:
Collection of security
money that is given to National Insurance
Distribution of
the security money between those insured, those working, the government
The pensions only
go to those who are secured
The conditions for
receiving this pension are payments and the creation of a situation
that warrants this pension
Receiving this pension
is not dependent upon the person’s economic situation
The distribution
effect is to help weak populations. Those with a greater economic capacity
have to pay more. Everyone pays according to their income.
Advantages to National Insurance:
Strengthens social
solidarity
Gives assets to
those insured
Pension receivers
will feel good about themselves because they still paid their dues “like
everyone else,” and therefore received money on merit and not as charity
There will be more
motivation to pay up
To sum up, society cannot turn
a blind eye to the hardships of people, and therefore the government
must intervene.
Over the years, the establishers
of policies demonstrated that National Insurance is an “income tax
of second degree.” With time there is a tendency to limit the pensions
through means of testing income.
Reasons for the weakening of
the National Insurance system:
Social processes
that bring about a situation where the population is considered an exploitation
of the system. For example, immigrants could feel less or foreign because
of all the obligations on them. In addition, they are largely dependent
upon the help of others and this can cause frustration among those that
are paying.
There is this feeling
of being burnt out in Israel, in terms of social solidarity, which is
necessary for these programs to function. We, therefore, have become
a divided society, where every group sees itself as a separate faction
with different and individualized needs. Everyone just worries about
themselves.
Doron argues that
because of the multitude of cultures there is a weakening of the support
institutions, such as social security. Groups are more divided, and
see themselves in their individual group, and therefore do not relate
to these universal programs. Once again, everyone is just worrying about
themselves.
If this burnt out feeling continues
and increases, then we are likely to reach a situation where we will
only provide aid to those in need and dependent.