Social Policy and Professional Ethics

A block grant is federal money which 1. requires few specifications and allows for a high degree of local autonomy. 2. requires matching funds by the county or city and permits only a low degree of local autonomy. 3. is used by states for food stamps. 4. usually requires eligibility criteria.

The correct answer is 1. Block grants allocate federal funds to states and municipalities for such broadly defined purposes as "community development" or "housing." The local government can use the funds for any purpose that falls within the general category. There is minimal federal supervision.

The term "boarder babies" is used to describe babies who are in hospitals because they 1. have no families available to care for them. 2. need medical attention. 3. are from other countries. 4. are awaiting adoption and need medical attention.

The correct answer is 1. Boarder babies are usually either newborns or infants who required medical attention, but were subsequently abandoned by their families. Because of system failures, these babies may spend many months in the hospital, essentially in custodial care.

In recent years, many states have entrusted the care of dependent or neglected children and social services to their families primarily to 1. private nonprofit agencies. 2. state-run facilities. 3. out-of-state facilities. 4. facilities operated by localities.

The correct answer is 1. Since the 1970s, many states contracted for foster care services with private non-profit agencies. It is believed that these agencies provide higher quality services at lower cost than state agencies.

One commitment that is implicit in the NASW Code of Ethics is that 1. a social worker's obligation to the client takes primacy over obligations to the employer. 2. a client represented by a social worker takes primacy over society as a whole or other aggrieved individuals. 3. advocacy for one's client takes universal preference over institutional change. 4. mobilization of clients is secondary to advocacy by social workers.

The correct answer is 1. The NASW Code of Ethics emphasizes that the client has the highest claim on the worker's ethical agenda.

Select the statement that best describes the institutional concept of social welfare. 1. Welfare services are normal, first-line functions of modern society. 2. All individuals who cannot function adequately should be entitled to residential care. 3. Social welfare institutions should come into play only when the family, and the economy breakdown. 4. Social services should emphasize development of residential programs.

The correct answer is 1. The institutional perspective identifies social welfare as an integral social function and a normal part of the society's activities. In the residual view, social welfare is mainly a social safety net for the poor.

The Social Security tax includes cash contributions that rise with income, a fixed percentage of earned income, and a maximum tax paid at a maximum income level. Since a lower-income worker pays the same percent of income as one with higher income, and those with incomes that exceed the maximum pay a lower percentage, the tax is considered 1. a regressive tax. 2. a progressive tax. 3. a cumulative tax. 4. a value added tax

The correct answer is 1. The tax is regressive because higher income individuals pay a lower percentage of their total income. If the maximum tax is $1500, and the maximum amount of salary taxed is $50,000, people earning more than $50,000 will pay a lower percentage of their income. Those earning $50,000 will pay 3% of their income, while those earning $150,000 pay only 1% of their income.

Most of the elderly in our nation live in 1. a family setting. 2. their own household. 3. institutional settings. 4. communal senior citizen homes.

The correct answer is 1. This is the best answer. Social policies are designed to advance significant social goals. They may be protective, corrective or restorative, or they may represent an investment in the society.

The largest number of persons receiving public assistance in most states are 1. single mothers. 2. children less than 18-years-old. 3. unemployed fathers. 4. aged individuals.

The correct answer is 2. Children are the largest beneficiaries of public assistance. Unattached single individuals, the elderly, and childless couples represent a very small proportion of the welfare population.

Mental health policy emphasizes reducing inpatient services. As a result, many facilities for the mentally ill have closed and community-based services have expanded. The policy is generally known as 1. privatization. 2. deinstitutionalization. 3. cost-reduction program. 4. continuum of care.

The correct answer is 2. Deinstitutionalization, the closing of a significant number of large inpatient mental health centers, has been achieved largely because of the development of new medications that can safely help to manage seriously mentally disturbed individuals. The strategy was accompa nied by a renewed emphasis on building community based-mental health facilities designed to provide outpatient and support services. Unfortunately, the velocity of hospital closings was not matched by the availability of community services, leaving many patients without sufficient help.

Workmens Compensation provides cash payments and medical benefits to workers who experience injuries on the job. Workrnens Compensation is 1. a redistributive program. 2. an insurance program. 3. a regulatory program. 4. a compensatory program.

The correct answer is 2. Workmen's Compensation is paid for out of insurance premiums paid by employers.

The "obligation to provide charity" was first noted in the 1. Edict of Nantes. 2. Poor Law of 1662. 3. medieval church canons. 4. Poor Law of 1834.

The correct answer is 3. In the Medieval period, the church argued that there was a communal obligation to provide assistance. With the growth of towns, the commun_alobligation shifted to the town, and then to the state.

In their book, Regulating the Poor, Frances Piven and Richard Cloward argue 1. there is no relationship between social policy and economic distress. 2. public relief stems political disorder during periods of mass unemployment and enforces low wages during periods of economic stability. 3. a declining cohort of young people supports an increasing population of elderly citizens. 4. as wages rise, the costs of Social Security are increasingly shifted to the middle class

public relief stems political disorder during periods of mass unemployment and enforces low wages during periods of economic stability.

A social worker employed in a private family clinic treats a couple with marital communication problems. There is no question of violence and there does not seem to be any serious pathology. The clients agree to pay fees monthly. When the clients do not pay after six weeks, the worker reminds them of the payment arrangements and discusses the overdue account. They agree to pay.. After continued non-payment, the social worker wishes to terminate the treatment. The worker 1. can continue treatment, but remind them of their responsibilities. 2. can notify the couple of the reasons and terminate the relationship. 3. should discontinue collection attempts. 4. cannot terminate the couple's treatment as long they need help.

1. The correct answer is 2. The Code of Ethics permits the worker to terminate the couple's treatment, if there are no serious or safety issues and if there is prior discussion with clients.

The fastest growing component of federal assistance programs is 1. TANF. 2. SSL 3. Food Stamps. 4. Kidney Dialysis.

4. The correct answer is 3. Though opponents of welfare typically claim that public assistance is growing rapidly, in fact, the Food Stamp program is growing at a faster rate.

AA social worker seeking continuing cash assistance for an indigent client who recently lost his vision after a serious automobile accident would probably refer the client to 1. the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program. 2. Public Assistance. 3. the Title XX agency. 4. a private charity.

5. The correct answer is 1. If the client has an employment history, he or she might also be eligible for SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance). Public Assistance would not be appropriate in this case because the client has a disability and is eligible for other programs.

A major principle of the Social Security Program's public assistance programs is that government should provide 1. assistance after personal and family resources are no longer available. 2. assistance based on national criteria and national eligibility standards. 3. assistance that is uniform throughout the country. 4. assistance that maintains families above the poverty level.

The correct answer is 1. All public assistance programs operate on the basis of extreme need. It is only when family resources are no longer available that welfare will be provided. TANF now provides a lifetime limit on benefits. In the future, individuals and families may be denied aid even though they do not have resources.

A factor that distinguishes block grants from categorical grants is 1. categorical grants usually have a specific purpose while block grants are dedicated to more general purposes. 2. block grants are usually funded by a combination of federal, state, and local revenues. 3. public law usually guarantees categorical grants. 4. block grants are usually less politically motivated.

The correct answer is 1. Block grants replaced categorical grants during the 1980s. Categorical programs were usually directed toward a single problem. Block grants combine numerous categorical grants into one general purpose program. Thus, the Mental Health Block Grant is allocated to state governments. The states can then choose which programs they will fund.

A feature of block grants is that they tend to 1. increase competition between social service organizations for funds at the local and state levels of government. 2. increase lobbying activity and funding pressures at the federal of government level. 3. decrease funding at all levels of government. 4. increase the complexity of line item budgeting.

The correct answer is 1. Block grants shift allocation responsibilities to state agencies. As a result, public and voluntary social agencies must tum to state capitals to seek priority treatment for their programs. Prior to the initiation of block grants, lobbyists focused on the Congress, as that was where funding decisions were made. With the shift in emphasis in lobbying, pressure on the federal government to increase funds for social services and social welfare was somewhat reduced.

A similarity between Medicare and Medicaid is that both are 1. authorized under the Social Security Act. 2. insurance programs. 3. administered by the federal government. 4. similar from state to state.

The correct answer is 1. Both Medicare and Medicaid are authorized under the Social Security Act.

A categorical grant 1. has guidelines established by the federal government with state specification of criteria for the money's distribution. 2. is funded solely by the state and local government. 3. is usually given for a general rather than a specific purpose. 4. does not require matching funds.

The correct answer is 1. Categorical grants are dedicated funds that are granted for a specific purpose and available only for that purpose.

There are a number of conditions under which a social worker is not required by law to maintain confidentiality. Select the statement below that is most correct in describing instances in which confidentiality is not required: 1. A social worker is sued for malpractice, violence is threatened, child or elder abuse occurs. 2. Child custody is in question, a client defrauds an agency, a client refuses to pay legitimate fees. 3. A client gives informed consent for a case record to be opened, a criminal charge is filed against a client, a client assaults a worker. 4. An agency executive orders a social worker to provide information, the police inquire about a client, a worker is summoned in a civil suit.

The correct answer is 1. Confidentiality is not an absolute. There are a number of conditions that allow or require social workers to breach confidentiality. The three conditions mentioned in the stem allow, and in some cases require, social workers to ignore client's rights to private communications.

The practice of hearing children's cases in the judge's chambers or closed court, and the use of probation services for children was originally recommended by 1. Julia Lathrop and Grace Abbot. 2. the Social Security Act of 1935. 3. Title IV-C of the Social Security Act. 4. the American Bar Association.

The correct answer is 1. It was not until the 20th Century that children's cases were treated differ ently than those of adult criminals. Among the innovations championed by Julia Lathrop and Grace Abbott were closed courts and sealed records, and the use of treatment rather than punishment for juvenile offenders. In recent years some states have enacted laws that permit teenagers to be prosecuted as adults in serious cases involving capital offenses.

The primary purpose of Public Law 94-142 is to 1. require special services and an individual education plan for students with learning problems. 2. decrease racial segregation. 3. increase busing to magnet schools. 4. require states to establish specialized high schools.

The correct answer is 1. PL94-142 mandates states to provide special education services to children.

Child welfare policy emphasizes that treatment efforts to maintain the family should be a first priority, as parents can provide the best environment for their children. Placement should be considered only after it is shown that families are so dysfunctional that they are unable to maintain a safe environment for their children. Therefore, high service levels are justified to maintain children in their own homes. This policy derives from 1. the concept of permanency planning. 2. a central value of social work ethics. 3. economic rather than philosophic motives. 4. the notion that all families can be helped to succeed as parents.

The correct answer is 1. Permanency planning was a central feature of the Child Welfare Reform Act of 1970. The program placed greater responsibility on child welfare agencies to make extraordinary efforts to reunite children with their families. It also mandated that children should be freed for placement, if their families proved unresponsive to intervention and were unable to make necessary changes within a reasonable period.

A distinguishing characteristic of public assistance or "welfare" programs is that 1. they are means-tested. 2. they provide equal financial support to everyone in the family. 3. they express an institutional view of social programs. 4. their motivation is totally altruistic and benevolent.

The correct answer is 1. Public assistance programs require proof that family income falls below a certain maximum. Social insurance programs, such as Social Security, are based on payments into an insurance fund to determine eligibility.

When providing social work assistance to a two-parent family receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, the worker must keep in mind that 1. the family and the worker must develop strategies to move toward independence. 2. the children may be vulnerable to removal, if the parents are unable to find employment. 3. landlords are likely to try to evict families on welfare. 4. other welfare programs need to be found if the family loses their public assistance payments.

The correct answer is 1. TANF is a time-limited program that has lifetime limits with a federal maximum of five years of assistance. Social workers must address this time limit and help families develop the tools to live independently before their benefits expire.

In 1967, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a juvenile has a right to cross-examine complainants and a right to counsel and protection against self-incrimination in the 1. Gault Decision. 2. Ginsberg Decision. 3. Kelly v. Goldberg. 4. Thompson v. Frornni.

The correct answer is 1. The Gault decision held that juveniles have the same rights to cross examine witnesses as adults in criminal proceedings. The special conditions of the juvenile court did not require the abrogation of constitutional guarantees before the law.

The 1965 report that described Black youth as trapped in a "tangle of pathology," crime, and school and work failure resulting from the destruction of the Black family is known as the 1. Moynihan Report. 2. Jensen Report. 3. Smith Chronicle. 4. Friedman Controversy.

The correct answer is 1. The Moynihan Report argued that Black families suffered from instability, a propensity to produce illegitimate children, and a matriarchal structure that produced harmful effects, particularly on boys. The report was controversial in its own time and led to accusations of racism.

The customary designation of 65 years as the beginning of old age and eligibility for retirement benefits under Social Security has been changed to reflect new conditions. Discussions about raising the age for full eligibility for Social Security benefits reflect concerns about 1. reducing the costs of social security and responding to the increase in life span that has occurred since the initiation of Social Security. 2. permitting older workers to remain in the work force longer. 3. delaying social security payments until many eligible people would no longer be alive to collect them. 4. setting the stage for privatization of social security.

The correct answer is 1. The changes clearly reflect concerns about the ability of the Social Security trust fund to continue payments to beneficiaries over the long-term without producing deficits. Workers are living longer, and therefore tend to remain on social security for longer periods.

A federal insurance program that insures mothers and young children against the loss of a breadwinner is called 1. survivors insurance provided under the Social Security program. 2. TANF-Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. 3. child welfare benefits. 4. Food Stamps.

The correct answer is 1. The key concept is the notion of social insurance. The Social Security Program was designed to provide benefits to the ill and aged, but it also included the survivors and minor children of deceased or disabled eligible workers. TANF is a welfare program, not insurance paid for by beneficiaries.

A 14-year-old youth is arrested for a minor crime in a small town. A reporter for the local press seeks information. What philosophy guides the justice system when asked for information on the identity of the offender and the circumstances of the crime? 1. Court records are confidential for offenses committed by children. Neither the court nor the police would provide information on the identity of the youth. 2. A free and open press is essential to a civil society. All information is available to the press. 3. Under the Freedom of Information Act, the reporter can request information and the court must provide it. 4. The case would be handled no differently than an adult case. There would be no special obstacles placed before the reporter.

The correct answer is 1. The purpose of the juvenile court is to provide a venue in which rehabilitation is possible. In most states, juvenile court records are sealed. If there are no offenses after reaching the age of majority, the juvenile records remain sealed.

The residual perspective on social welfare stresses the idea that 1. social welfare programs are designed as a safety net for people who are incapable of benefitting from normal market services or other government programs. 2. social welfare programs should be a normal feature of a society's social arrangements for everyone. 3. legislative authority for social welfare programs resides in legislature. 4. social welfare programs should always be administered at the lowest administrative level of local government or by religious institutions.

The correct answer is 1. The residual perspective defines social welfare as temporary programs or benefits that exist for people who cannot benefit from the normal institutional channels for a variety of personal or organizational reasons. In contrast, the institutional view sees social welfare as an integral-social function and a normal part of the society's activities. In the residual view, social welfare is mainly for the poor and provides a social safety net.

The change in social work theory from viewing the individual mainly in the context of forces in the environment to perceiving people mainly as products of unconscious or learned responses reflects a shift in orientation from 1. individual and group treatment to reform and modification of social policy. 2. social reform and social policy change to techniques of individual and group treatment. 3. a unified social welfare delivery system to separating income maintenance and social services. 4. an eclectic practice to more strict analytic techniques.

The correct answer is 2. A clinical profession such as social work may reference environmental issues, but the focus of attention is the psychic makeup and behavior of the individual. Thus, while it is known that child abuse distorts child development, and that child abuse is associated with poverty and social deprivation, the objects of attention are the behavior of the abusing family and the protection of the child, not the social priorities that allow poverty to exist.

An annual budget process provides evidence of 1. a responsible board of directors and a competent executive director. 2. an organization guided by policy objectives and clear goals. 3. cost-effectiveness strategies. 4. legislative mandates.

The correct answer is 2. All agencies are required to prepare annual budgets and submit them to their boards or, in the case of public agencies, to the legislature. The annual budget is a planning document that also imposes discipline and rigor on managers.

While adoption is a desired outcome in cases where the child can no longer expect to return home to the biological family, it has also been found that 1. in many cases children reject the new family. 2. disruption of the adoption often occurs, particularly as the child becomes more assertive or difficult in the teenage years. 3. adoptive families will only accept "perfect" babies. 4. children with disabilities are not placeable.

The correct answer is 2. Disruption is a continuing issue in adoption. It often occurs as children reach the difficult teen-age years and begin to rebel or act out. Estimates of disruption range from 10-25%.

Research to show an association between social class and schizophrenia is an example of 1. epistemological studies. 2. epidemiological studies. 3. functional analysis. 4. social indicator analysis.

The correct answer is 2. Epistemological studies investigate the origins and limits of human knowledge. Epidemiology is the study of associations between populations and diseases. For example, the evidence favoring the theory that cigarette smoking causes various diseases is based on epidemiological studies. Many studies show that long-term smokers tend to contract lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema at much higher rates than non-smokers.

An essential factor in determining, winning approval for, and implementing social policy is to 1. enhance and expand existing services. 2. obtain broad political support from many segments of the community. 3. alter the political system. 4. provide greater benefits for specific populations.

The correct answer is 2. Few social policies can be implemented without broad social support. Programs for the poor are costly and require support from voters who do not receive direct benefits from these programs. As a result, social policies that benefit the poor receive only grudging acceptance. Moreover, the poor tend to exhibit little interest in politics and vote at much lower rates than the middle and upper classes, and are not taken seriously by legislators.

In most states, the vast majority of children in placement reside in 1. institutions. 2. foster homes. 3. group homes. 4. detention centers.

The correct answer is 2. Institutions and group homes are for children who cannot be placed with a family. There are many reasons. Older adolescents and disturbed children are often not suitable for family placement and need special care. The vast majority of children in foster care are placed with families.

A difference between Medicare and Medicaid is 1. Medicare is authorized under federal law while Medicaid is authorized by individual states. 2. the federal government administers Medicare while the states administer Medicaid. 3. Medicare pays for in-hospital services while Medicaid limits these payments. 4. Medicaid has open-ended funding while Medicare has closed end funding.

The correct answer is 2. Medicaid is administered by state governments and is designed for the medically indigent. Medicare is an entitlement program for the elderly and the disabled.

A federally supported medical insurance payment program that provides health services for the elderly is 1. Medicaid. 2. Medicare. 3. Health Maintenance Organizations. 4. Third-Party Payments.

The correct answer is 2. Medicare provides medical assistance for the elderly and disabled, while Medicaid is targeted to families and individuals receiving welfare.

Social policy may be regarded as 1. principles and procedures that guide relationships in society and are used to intervene in and regulate an otherwise random social system. 2. helping people realize their potential for improved social functioning through experi ences in which members are involved with common concerns. 3. a "problem-solving" approach in which a professional change agent helps a community action system composed of individuals, groups, or organizations to deal with social problems. 4. an invention of modem societies.

The correct answer is 2. Most elderly are self-sufficient and prefer to live in their own homes rather than in congregate settings. Many infirm elderly can be maintained in their own homes with sufficient support.

According to systems theory, public assistance, Medicaid, social services, and food stamps are considered 1. throughputs. 2. inputs. 3. social justice. 4. social investments.

The correct answer is 2. Public assistance and Medicaid are interventions designed to create change for the beneficiary. These are invariably inputs.

The 1974 law authorizing the Supplementary Security Income Program (SSI) 1. provides for need without specific cause. 2. maintains the consistency of public assistance programs by providing income only after the cause of need is determined. 3. defines eligibility through personal declaration. 4. permits recipients of welfare programs to receive additional benefits without needing to show cause.

The correct answer is 2. SSI, though operated as a federal assistance program for the poor, maintains the same principal as other assistance programs in that it is means-tested. SSI requires proof that the applicant does not have resources or means.

A major feature of programs that have a "selective" rather than a universal perspective is that 1. selective programs are usually less expensive to administer than those that are universal. 2 selective programs are available to persons with certain well-defined personal character istics that tend to stigmatize them, while universal programs are available to broadly defined populations and carry little or no stigma. 3. universal benefits are considered unequal, while those that are selective tend to be equal. 4. benefits provided by selective programs are not usually means-tested, while those provided by universal programs are means-tested.

The correct answer is 2. Selective programs are, by definition, focused on special populations e.g. persons who are poor or mentally ill. The characteristic that determines eligibility must be proved. These may include a psychiatric diagnosis or proof that one is poor. Universal programs, such as public education are available to all. The major limitations placed on eligibility are residence in a specified school district and age.

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) 1s 1. financed totally by the state. 2. financed totally by the federal government. 3. a program for families with children initiated in 1996 to replace AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). 4. the only remaining federal grant program under the Social Security Act.

The correct answer is 3. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was an open-ended assistance program that terminated in 1996 and was replaced by TANF. AFDC was heavily criticized because it paid additional benefits for each child and placed no limits on recipients' reproductive behavior. It was alleged but never proved, that the program encouraged out-of wedlock births among teen-age mothers. TANF is time limited with the expectation that the recipient will return to work or training.

The Settlement Law of 1662 established a minimum period of residence before a person could establish legal settlement in a town. Under this provision 1. the concept of "less eligibility" became a standard part of modem welfare systems. 2. "eligibility" took its place alongside "need" as a major determinant of whether or not a person received assistance. 3. people were required to live and work in the same locale. 4. need was removed as a major determinant of public assistance.

The correct answer is 2. The English Poor Laws made clear distinctions as to who was eligible. These were mirrored in American Colonial Poor Laws. Duration of residence was a key determinant of eligibility. Both in America and England, however, these laws were relaxed in times oflabor shortages in order to encourage people to move from places of high unemployment to areas that needed labor. Even into the 1980s, localities periodically sought to institute residency laws, claiming that people move to obtain more generous benefits. Many studies have failed to verify this perception.

W.I.C. is a program that 1. began during the Ford administration and encourages mothers receiving public assistance to seek employment. 2. is a federal-state program that seeks to ensure proper nutrition for mothers and infants. 3. began as a community organization effort. 4. has had little effect in providing counseling to women and children.

The correct answer is 2. The Women's, Infants, and Children's Program focuses on nutrition services for mothers and young children.

Legal services that were previously offered by the Office of Economic Opportunity and which in 1975 were replaced by the Federal Legal Services Corporation provided 1. legal services for the poor in criminal cases. 2. legal services for the poor in civil cases. 3. a mandate for the states tt> seek absent fathers. 4. federalization of the Legal Aid Society.

The correct answer is 2. The mandate of the Legal Services Corporation was to provide legal services for the poor in civil matters such as divorce, custody, and consumer fraud. After several years, the Congress enjoined the organization from filing class action suits.

The social worker's legal and ethical obligation is to act quickly to involuntarily hospitalize a client when 1. the client's relatives request hospitalization. 2. the client is likely to deliberately or accidentally cause harm to themselves or others. 3. the client is suicidal. 4. a homeless client is in need of care.

The correct answer is 2. The only condition in which it is permissible and ethical to involuntarily hospitalize a client is when they are a danger to themselves or others.

The concept of negative risk characteristics is most useful in determining 1. whether a social work intervention will be successful. 2. factors that differentiate those in poverty from those outside. 3. the chances of genetic defects arising in a vulnerable family. 4. the ability of an individual to survive serious economic crises.

The correct answer is 2. The question seeks a definition of negative risk characteristics. Specifically, the characteristics considered in measuring negative risk include income, health, education, housing, employment, etc. For example, someone living in a poor neighborhood, in inadequate housing, and attending a substandard school is at higher risk of remaining poor and contracting certain illnesses than someone from a more enriched environment.

During the past 10 years, the number of children placed in foster homes has 1. decreased as local agencies have improved their capacity to manage child abuse cases. 2. increased as serious abuse and neglect have increased and agencies have grown more aggressive in protecting children. 3. decreased as social tolerance for various styles of parental behavior has widened. 4. remained a mystery as no statistics are available.

The correct answer is 2. There has been a dramatic growth in the numbers of children in care, a consequence of more aggressive enforcement of child protection statutes.

Eligibility for unemployment insurance is determined by 1. a means test. 2. past employment. 3. illness. 4. being "able bodied."

The correct answer is 2. Unemployment insurance programs require that beneficiaries have a prior recent history of employment. In most states, individuals who voluntarily resign are not covered. Coverage is limited to those who are involuntarily separated from their employment. Most states also require beneficiaries to show evidence of continuing efforts to find work.

For clinicians to provide mental health services to clients in a managed care environment, they are required to 1. provide a DSM-5 diagnosis. 2. join networks of providers offering a package of services. 3. justify services to case managers employed by a managed care organization and establish time boundaries based on client characteristics. 4. seek reimbursement through a nonprofit organization.

The correct answer is 2. Workmen's Compensation is an insurance program designed to reimburse covered workers for the direct costs of medical care and rehabilitation. The cost of Workmen's Compensation is borne by employers.

In the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (PL 94-142) the responsibility for providing appropriate education for children with physical challenges and learning disorders was given primarily to 1. private schools. 2. federal government. 3. local education agencies. 4. parents.

The correct answer is 3. 94-173 is the enabling legislation for programs for children with special needs. Local school districts are responsible for providing an education for all children. State criteria determine the level of effort and the costs. As the special needs population has grown and costs have risen, the program has received much criticism from local school officials and parents. The criticism focuses on the high level of resources diverted to the special needs population.

A major problem with managed care (HMO) mental health services for chronically ill patients is that 1. HMOs do not provide mental health services. 2. HMOs can provide excellent case management, but poor clinical services. 3. clients needing longer term supportive services are rarely able to access those services in managed care organizations. 4. payment for services is slow and inadequate.

The correct answer is 3. A major concern about mental health services in HMOs is that they are poorly equipped to provide long term support services for seriously mentally ill individuals. As a result, when services are available to this population, they are usually provided through nonprofit or public agencies

A means-tested program is one that 1. is targeted toward a specific group. 2. is subject to an evaluation. 3. requires the applicant to prove financial need. 4. does not require a certificate of residence.

The correct answer is 3. A means-tested program has an income eligibility requirement. A means test usually excludes people with incomes above a specified maximum.

Social service agencies serving families in poorer neighborhoods who receive financial assistance from public welfare programs must be particularly concerned with 1. the association between serious mental illness and poverty. 2. the growing risk of HIV/AIDS among those who do not receive adequate medical care. 3. the need to develop vocational alternatives for clients who will be denied welfare assistance after they reach the mandatory time limits. 4. public safety issues on days when clients receive their welfare checks.

The correct answer is 3. All of the statements are to some extent correct. However, agencies serving families on welfare must pay particular attention to the time limits mandated by TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the program that supplanted the old public assistance program.

A supervisor in a child welfare agency learns that the agency's personnel office has been diverting job applications from gay and lesbian applicants with the tacit approval of the executive director and the board. As a result, gays are never considered for employment, though perhaps qualified. What ethical principles drawn from the Social Work Code of Ethics should guide the supervisor's actions in this situation? 1. A supervisor's first responsibility is to help workers manage their caseloads and learn from practice experience. A supervisor is not responsible for every action of an agency. 2. The supervisor should resign from the agency both as a protest and because the agency is behaving unethically. 3. The supervisor should take aggressive professional action to end the discrimination. 4. The supervisor should explore his own values and act accordingly.

The correct answer is 3. Discrimination based on race, age, sexual orientation and religion are specifically proscribed in law and by the Code of Ethics. The supervisor is obligated to take action to end the practice.

Food Stamps and Medicaid are examples of 1. categorical grants. 2. block grants. 3. in-kind assistance. 4. grants-in-aid.

The correct answer is 3. Non-cash services such as Food Stamps and Medicaid are offered instead of cash assistance for the same services. They are defined as in-kind programs that have the effect of reducing the flexibility of the recipient to use the cash equivalents according to their own wishes.

State government policy to reduce the use of state agencies and state employees to provide services and to replace them with private nonprofit agencies, or in some cases with profit making-organizations, is called 1. contracting out. 2. cost reduction. 3. privatization. 4. union busting.

The correct answer is 3. Public policy in the last decade has assumed that private organizations can achieve greater efficiency and better quality than state delivered services. Privatization is a major trend throughout the country as the states delegate private organizations to deliver state-funded services.

A minority couple is unable to obtain a mortgage from a local bank. They learn that specific areas have been excluded from consideration. This practice is known as 1. legal dissuasion. 2. prudent evaluation. 3. redlining. 4. mortgage protection.

The correct answer is 3. Redlining is a pernicious practice of banks and insurance companies. Once a neighborhood is redlined, mortgages become difficult to obtain, and insurance carriers raise their rates for fire and theft insurance. Redlining contributes to neighborhood deterioration and inhibits housing rehabilitation.

An example of a program that reflects a social investment is 1. unemployment insurance. 2. Medicare. 3. prenatal care. 4. public assistance.

The correct answer is 3. Social investment programs are designed to prevent problems from developing or to promote desirable behavior. Prenatal care tends to reduce complications, lower health care costs, reduce birth anomalies, prevent childhood disabilities, and improve quality of life. They have proven to be an excellent social investment.

The first tacit assumption of public responsibility for shaping programs and influencing social policy occurred in 1912 in the field of 1. criminal justice. 2. unemployment. 3. child welfare. 4. mental health.

The correct answer is 3. The Children's Bureau was formed in 1912 after many years of advocacy by social welfare leaders. It was the first federal social welfare initiative that accepted some federal responsibility for the status of women and children. The only previous federal involvement in social welfare had occurred following the Civil War in the occupied South.

A social worker is asked to provide treatment for a woman with whom he had an intimate relationship two years ago. He should 1. provide treatment without question since a long period has passed. 2. provide treatment only after ascertaining that the romantic attachment is over. 3. suggest it would be inappropriate and unethical for him to treat her and urge her to find another clinician to provide help. 4. provide treatment, but remain alert to problems that might develop because of the previous relationship.

The correct answer is 3. The Code of Ethics is quite clear that social workers should not accept clients with whom they have a current or a previous sexual relationship (Section 1.09d).

The movement toward consumer advocacy and participation of the poor in community organiza tion has its roots primarily in the 1. functional school. 2. Charity Organization Society. 3. Settlement House Movement. 4. Massachusetts Board of Charities.

The correct answer is 3. The Settlement House Movement of the 19th Century is generally credited with stimulating and nurturing the organization of the poor to be politically active in their own behalf.

A major objective of social work from the 1890s through WWI was social reform. After 1920, the focus of social work was 1. expanded social reform through political action and social research. 2. community organization and economic development. 3. developing individual treatment methods and expanding social work training. 4. creating new social agencies such as the Women's and Children's Bureaus.

The correct answer is 3. The focus of social work professional development shifted dramatically during the 1920s and assumed the form that eventually became recognizable as modern social work. Social work shifted from a focus on social reform to individual treatment, though debates about the proper direction of social work involvement in social reform are still part of debates about the purposes of social work practice.

A social worker learns that a colleague has a long-term drinking problem. On one occasion, he smells alcohol on the colleague's breath during working hours. The social worker should first 1. report the colleague to the agency administrator. 2. notify the ethics committee. 3. discuss the matter at a staff meeting. 4. discuss the issue with the colleague.

The correct answer is 4. The NASW Code of Ethics indicates that the social worker should first discuss the issue with the employee. Obviously, if the behavior continues or if there is concern about retaliation, the social worker might choose another route.

In discussions of policies and programs, some authors such as Kahn and Kamerman have suggested the U.S. develop a comprehensive approach to children and families similar to that of Western European nations that they call 1. Social Insurance. 2. Children's Policy. 3. Family Policy. 4. Family Insurance.

The correct answer is 3. The idea of family policy, a comprehensive system of benefits and programs for families designed to protect their ability to care for children, the elderly, and the ill, was advanced in the early 80s as a policy initiative. Many western European nations have developed these policies, however, as a result of economic globalization, they too are truncating and gradually eliminating certain features of these programs.

Before the Social Security Act and the development of federal programs for the elderly, state non-contributory old age programs consistently 1. considered the aged as worthy poor and provided generous benefits. 2. covered all the elderly who needed assistance. / 3. required destitution, state residency, and contributions from relatives, if feasible. 4. encouraged the use of substandard residential programs for the elderly.

The correct answer is 3. The importance of the Social Security Act and its numerous amendments cannot be overstated. The SSA brought federal agencies into an arena that previously belonged to the states. After passage of the Old Age Insurance Program of Social Security, covered workers could obtain benefits as a right, without being indigent. Later amendments widened the scope of programs and added medical care.

Recently, there has been a vigorous public debate about creating incentives for Medicare and Medicaid patients to use Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) to provide all their health services. It is argued that 1. patients overuse services and HMOs are more efficient at controlling utilization. 2. HMOs require private practice physicians to lower their fees in order to compete. 3. HMOs will provide more services at lower cost by managing care more effectively. 4. there is too much fraud among hospitals and physicians, and HMOs can force them to comply with government regulations.

The correct answer is 3. The major reason for advocating the use ofHMOs is their ability to provide services more efficiently than fee-for-service. As a result, they can generally offer more services for the same fees as indemnity insurers.

Workmen's Compensation is designed to protect families from poverty during a period when the wages of one of its earners are reduced due to work-related injuries. Workmen's Compensation benefits include 1. cash benefits equal to salary. 2. reimbursements for medical care and rehabilitation. 3. child support allotments. 4. health insurance.

The correct answer is 3. The most general answer is 3. That answer describes the full process of managed care authorization.

The child protective service movement in the United States began in the 1870s in New York City. The agency that intervened and expanded its mandate to remove a child named Mary Ellen from the home of abusive foster parents was the 1. PBA. 2. Children's Aid Society. 3. the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 4. Society for Seaman's Children.

The correct answer is 3. The newest and most significant change that TANF introduced, is a lifetime limit on eligibility for receiving public assistance. The program also provides child care assistance and job training.

Welfare Reform created a program called TANF - (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) which is administered by the states. Its most significant and controversial feature is 1. unwed mothers will have to reveal the father's address. 2. children may be placed for trivial reasons. 3. eligibility for assistance is time-limited. 4. homeless families will not receive special priority for assistance.

The correct answer is 3. This is a fact question. The NYSPCA was the first agency to offer protection to children. Later the SPCC (Society for the Protection of Children) was established as a full subsidiary. The action led to the development of the child protective movement, and the creation of child protective societies throughout the United States.

After making a speech on sexual abuse treatment before a community group, a social worker learns that the local newspaper grossly misstated and amplified her qualifications. As a result of the article, a false impression was created and she received many phone calls from agencies asking her to consult and to see clients. In this case the social worker should 1. do nothing. She did not misstate her qualifications and she might as well enjoy the increased attention. 2. contact the local NASW ethics board and ask for guidance. 3. ask the newspaper to publish a correction and notify callers of the error. 4. call colleagues and let them know she was not responsible for the error.

The correct answer is 3. This is an ethics question and the Code offers clear guidance. Section 4.06 © enjoins social workers from misrepresenting their qualifications. There are no exceptions, even if the social worker has not deliberately misrepresented, as in this case.

A social worker receives a referral of a dialysis patient who is emotionally unable to follow through on self-care requirements. The worker has no experience treating clients with these characteristics and little knowledge of dialysis. Despite her lack of experience, the social worker decides to accept the referral. Which statement is most correct? 1. It is a mistake and an ethical breach for the worker to accept a case for which she has inadequate qualifications. 2. The problem is not unlike other problems that a social worker confronts and adds little complexity for the worker to address. 3. The social worker is entitled to accept the client, but in doing so, she has also accepted an obligation to learn more about this type of case, to provide the most effective care. 4. The social worker should test the situation and improvise as necessary.

The correct answer is 3. This is an ethics question. The worker is justified in accepting the case only if she plans to pursue the information and skills necessary to provide care. Code of Ethics (Section 4.0la).

An insurer asks a social worker to fax a client record to enable them to determine if treatment should be reimbursed. The social worker should 1. comply with the insurer's request. 2. refuse the insurer's request. 3. mail the record because of confidentiality concerns. 4. seek the client's permission before revealing any confidential information.

The correct answer is 4. A social worker cannot reveal information of the type described in this question without client approval.

During the progressive period (1890-1918), settlement house social workers emphasized 1. deficiencies within the individual. 2. community action. 3. the use of groups. 4. social reform.

The correct answer is 4. The Settlement House Movement brought middle-class college graduates, particularly college educated women, into poor urban areas. Leaders sought to document the living conditions of the poor and the exploitation they experienced. They were successful in initiating numerous social reforms by documenting and exposing social problems.

A married supervisor develops an intimate relationship with a supervisee. Indicate the statement that best reflects the underlying principle that should be invoked: 1. The behavior is acceptable if the supervisor is able to maintain sufficient distance. 2. The behavior is acceptable if the agency is informed. 3. The behavior is disruptive of the supervisory process and should be terminated. 4. The behavior is exploitative and violates professional ethics.

The correct answer is 4. Heightened sensitivity to sexual exploitation has generated a clearer conception of acceptable behavior. In situations where there are power differentials, the presump tion that a sexual relationship is fully consensual is questionable. Indeed, the injunctions against a sexual relationship between a supervisor and a worker are so strong, that it is considered an ethical violation. While answer 3 is also a correct statement, it is not broad enough to capture the full significance of such behavior, since it only addresses the consequences and not the underlying values.

Closing mental institutions and decreasing inpatient stays, while increasing community based care could not have been implemented without 1. changed allocation formulas and increased public funding. 2. new theories and improved treatment methodologies. 3. a severe fiscal crisis. 4. the development of psychotropic medications that make it possible for severely mentally ill patients to achieve higher levels of independence.

The correct answer is 4. It was not until medications successfully controlled serious mental illness, that it became possible to close institutions. Their widespread use led to the closing of many thousands of inpatient beds.

"Maximum feasible participation" was a cornerstone of the Great Society anti-poverty programs in the 1960s. The most serious problem in meeting this objective was 1. increased feelings among the middle class that they were not benefitting, though their taxes were being used for a variety of social programs. 2. antagonism of professional social workers who felt slighted and lost influence to committees of the poor who developed policies. 3. inefficiency that derived from the influence of untrained poor people. 4. hostility by local government officials who lost political influence with the poor and urged the congress to return influence to urban Mayors.

The correct answer is 4. Many urban mayors strongly objected to Office of Economic Opportunity direct grants to community organizations. These grants bypassed the mayor's office as well as state government and disrupted local political arrangements. It did not take long for the congress to return power to the mayors by requiring that 1/3 of the seats on the boards of Community Action Programs had to be reserved for mayor's representatives.

Medicare Part A does not include 1. protection from substantial medical care costs. 2. funding as an insurance program. 3. administration by the federal government. 4. payment of all hospital, medication, nursing home, and outpatient medical costs.

The correct answer is 4. Medicare Part A does not provide full coverage of hospital, nursing home or prescription costs. There are deductibles or co-payments required for many services and limits on the duration of care. Part B, an optional add-on program which beneficiaries can select at additional cost provides some coverage for prescription costs

The director of field placement at a social work school learns that a field placement agency has a history of denying promotions to women. Several lawsuits against the agency have been won by employees over the past few years and the agency has been sanctioned by NASW. The agency has not taken any steps to correct the problem. The school should 1. not interfere in the agency's operations. 2. notify the agency of the school's concern. 3. notify students assigned to the agency and give them an opportunity to choose another placement. 4. notify the agency that student placement arrangements will be discontinued.

The correct answer is 4. Section 3.09(f) of the Code of Ethics notes that social workers should not arrange field experiences in agencies that do not have fair employment practices. In this case the school would be expected to terminate its relationship with the agency.

Adam Smith did not support the English Poor Laws because the 1. result would be higher wages. 2. standard of living would be lowered. 3. character of the people would be debased. 4. residency limitations interfered with labor mobility required by a free market system.

The correct answer is 4. Smith understood that one of the hallmarks of an efficient labor market is the ability of workers to move freely from places where employment was scarce to locales where they could find employment. Residency laws are not permitted by the Social Security Act.

A program that is neither supervised nor administered by a state agency is 1. unemployment insurance. 2. TANF. 3. Medicaid. 4. Social Security.

The correct answer is 4. Social Security is totally administered by the federal government with no state or local participation. The other programs mentioned are all administered locally, though partially funded from federal sources.

An important consequence of social work's increased identification with and emphasis on providing clinical treatment over the past 90 years is 1. a decline in community interest in social treatment. 2. interest in social reform within the profession has increased. 3. interest in professional expertise and in social reform has increased. 4. interest in social reform has declined while concern about clinical expertise has in creased.

The correct answer is 4. Social work's engagement in social reform is less significant today than it was in the earliest period of social work at the beginning of the 20th Century. After WW 1, social work identified more closely with psychiatry and gradually reshaped itself into a clinical profession. Social reform is now a minor element in the range of social work concerns.

AFDC provides basic cash benefits to mothers with young children and has been replaced by TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), a program that 1. is fully funded by the states and imposes work training requirements. 2. eliminates all employment training programs and child care. 3. replaces all other cash assistance and insurance programs. 4. limits the duration of payments, requires recipients to seek employment, and may refuse additional assistance to mothers who have a child while on welfare.

The correct answer is 4. TANF represents a major shift in welfare policy and limits the time one can receive assistance. It also provides funds to the states to assist families in achieving independence.

The principle of local responsibility for the poor in public assistance programs in the U.S. has as its basis the 1. Reform Act of 1911. 2. Poor Law of 1662. 3. Reform Act of 1834. 4. Poor Law of 1601.

The correct answer is 4. The English Poor Law of 1601, which established the principle of public responsibility for the poor, became the basis of welfare law in the U.S. The English system was embedded in Colonial Poor Laws that provided the basis for contemporary programs that stress local governmental responsibility for the poor.

One major consequence of licensing and certification of social workers is that it 1. offers protection for consumers, but limits protection for social workers by increasing their vulnerability to lawsuits. 2. establishes fixed but inadequate professional standards. 3. provides a career continuum with a strict standard for each level. 4. protects the public from ineligible individuals, many of whom do not have formal social work training by prohibiting their use of the social worker title.

The correct answer is 4. The correct answer stresses the title protection benefit oflicensing and the benefit to consumers of professional regulation.

Eligibility for public assistance is determined by 1. family size, annual income, financial reserves, employment record. 2. family income, employment record, number of children. 3. level of income, receipt of Social Security. 4. income, financial reserves, family size, need.

The correct answer is 4. The criteria for eligibility for public assistance is need. Need is determined by income and savings. The amount of need is determined by family size.

The theory that the poor are unable to escape from poverty because they have learned and integrated behaviors and attitudes from the community and the family environment is called 1. constitutional inferiority. 2. accumulated environmental deficits. 3. inadequate socialization. 4. the culture of poverty.

The correct answer is 4. The notion that the poor remain poor because they are acculturated to behaviors that keep them in poverty was first advanced by anthropologist Oscar Lewis in his studies of Mexican urban slums. The contrasting view was developed by Richard Cloward. Cloward argues that the poor are able to escape from poverty when sufficient opportunities are available to encourage people to move into employment.

During the middle of the 19th century, a major reform effort in mental health was 1. the development of new individual treatment methods. 2. laws requiring humane treatment of the mentally ill. 3. the development of community services. 4. improved treatment of the mentally ill and reform of mental institutions.

The correct answer is 4. The reforms of the 19th Century, stimulated in part by activists such as Dorothea Lynde Dix, stimulated a shift in the treatment of the mentally ill. Her reports on the treatment of the poor and the insane lead to major reforms and improvements in care.

A client is brought to a mental health clinic by her family. At 10am, the intake worker informs the supervisor the client is actively suicidal. The supervisor asks the worker to take the client to the psychiatric emergency unit immediately for evaluation and report back afterwards. The worker makes an appointment for the following morning. She does not inform the supervisor and the supervisor does not ask for the requested feedback. That night the client commits suicide. Subsequently, the agency is sued for malpractice by the client's family. Which statement of liability is most true. 1. The worker is responsible. 2. The supervisor is responsible. 3. The worker and the supervisor share responsibility. 4. The worker, the supervisor, and the agency share responsibility.

The correct answer is 4. The worker was wrong in not following the supervisors' instructions; however the supervisor failed to follow up later in the day. From a legal perspective, however, the agency, the supervisor, and the worker share responsibility for client treatment, and can be sued for malpractice.

The social work profession has little intellectual influence or impact in promoting universal family-oriented social policies due to 1. a focus on specialization. 2. a new emphasis on a non-pathological view of social conflict. 3. an institutional view pervading the profession. 4. a societal emphasis on residual social welfare programs and practices.

The correct answer is 4. There is little pressure for additional social welfare programs and particularly for costly new programs. The public tends to respond to discrete, easily identifiable problems that appear to be manageable through the application of targeted services.

The need for family education and support services for very young mothers increased between the mid-1970s and today because there is a significant increase in the number of 1. mothers who need to work and were at risk of placing their children into foster care. 2. single parent families who no longer had the ability to care for young children. 3. very young two-parent families. 4. unwed teenage mothers of all races deciding to raise their children.

The correct answer is 4. Though the incidence of teen births has not significantly shifted in the last two decades, there has been a major change in the attitude of young mothers. Rather than placing their children for adoption, a larger proportion of unmarried teen mothers are now deciding to raise their children. Marriages and first births, on average, are occurring at later ages than in the past, as young people seek to establish a foothold in their careers before embarking on parenting.