Welfare System And Services: A Case Study Of A Single Mother's Financial Instability And Homelessness (essay).

Laura is a single mum with two children. She recently left a violent marriage and has been staying with friends. She keeps applying for houses and flats to rent but her applications keep getting rejected. She is worried as she keeps moving from house to house and knows that she cannot stay with her friends forever. All of this moving is making it hard for her to keep her kids at school and to hold down a job. She is struggling financially and does not know what to do. She was married for ten years and her husband was in control of the income and was physically and emotionally violent. She feels she has no skills to get a job as he husband refuse to let her work as a nurse even though she was qualified.

You are required to prepare a report, proposing a detailed and integrated welfare system specific to the chosen scenario and comprising the following:

• Identify the welfare system/s relevant to the case study framework.
• Identify resources and support for the specific target group that can be accessed within the relevant welfare system/s.
• Evaluation of services suitable for the scenario.

In this report you need to find out what welfare services you can provide to laura. Also you need to explain why are you choosing those services for laura and how those services can help laura. Also in this case study you need to prioritise what services will you offer her first and why. For example - Keeping laura in a

Welfare System Relevant to the Case Study

From the case study it can be understood that Laura being a victim of a violent marriage is presently under severe trauma. Moreover, it can also be understood that her financial condition making it difficult to survive. In addition to this, it has also been monitored that Laura is unable to find any housing rent. This in turn is affecting the studies and schooling of her children. Moreover, the violent marriage as well as the present scenario are causing negative impacts on her confidence. She feels that she is not capable of getting any employment in spite of degree in nursing. In this regard, it can be understood that Laura is in need of governmental welfare services in order to cope up with the present situation. The discussion hence will focus on the welfare services that are provided by the Australian government in order to overcome the situation.

The government of Australia has come up with several welfare programs in order to support the various needs of the citizens. In the context of the present case study it can be said that the welfare programs that have implemented in order to support the homeless people will be most relevant. It has been monitored that in order to tackle the issues of homelessness, the government has come up with several programs that are highly effective in addressing the various needs of the homeless people (Duckett & Willcox, 2015). By analyzing the situation of Laura it can be understood that she is in immediate need of a rented house as well as financial assistance. Hence, the services assisting accommodation, renting and homelessness are to be regarded as important. It has been monitored that Electronic Verification of Rent service is highly effective in searching right amount of house rent assistance. In addition to this, the service also focuses on the community housing organizations.

In addition to this, Laura can opt for Cetrepay, a community service that provides assistance to support payment of rents and other bills (Kröger & Yeandle, 2013). Homeless Australia is another effective service that can assists Laura in searching for rented houses. In addition to this, Laura can avail the services that have been designed in order to support the people in need for employment.

It can be monitored that by accessing the welfare service that has been designed to support the needs of the homeless people, Laura can avail support in searching for accommodations on rent. By availing the services provided in order to support the homeless people, Laura can find accommodations and that too in a comparatively cheaper rate (McGorry, Bates & Birchwood, 2013). This in turn will be helpful in her present financial condition. The primary importance should be given to arranging for a secured accommodation for her. This will help in reducing her insecurity to a great extent.

In addition to this, Laura should next be provided with the unemployment support. Centrelink will be the most effective service that can provide her social security payments. This will help her in addressing the financial problems (Bateman, Henderson & Kezelman, 2013). Moreover, Laura should also be provided with the Qualification Recognition program that can help her to find relevant jobs, as per her qualification.

Resources and support for the Specific Target Group

Moreover, the Childcare Program will support Laura in continuing the educational expenses of her children. The cash subsidies that this service provide will help her to a great extent (Willis, Reynolds & Keleher, 2016). In addition to this, supports and counseling sessions can be arranged for Laura to address her mental trauma and boost her confidence.  

From the case study it can be understood that at present the primary problems that Laura is facing are homelessness and financial insecurity. In this context it can be said that homelessness is one of the major problems amongst the Australian citizens. Hence, the government has come up with multiple programs to support this people. In order to search for secured accommodation on rent, the Electronic Verification on Rent is highly effective (Powell & Hendricks, 2014). This government sponsored service is helpful in searching for accommodation according to the needs of the service seeker. In addition to this, the service is significantly helpful in obtaining financial assistance in the situations of crisis. It can be understood from the case study that Laura is going through financial instability. Hence, she might find it difficult to pay for the rents, bills and the school fees of her children at the initial stages.

The unemployment service support programs. The Qualification Recognition program will help Laura in finding an employment that is suitable for her qualification. Moreover, the welfare program is effective in addressing the training and developmental needs of the people who are willing to take up the assistance of the service (Kemp et al., 2014). It can be monitored from the case study that Laura is a qualified nurse. However, her violent marriage life has created a great impact on her confidence level. Hence, she can avail the training programs that will help to boost her confidence further.

In addition to this, it can be understood that at present Laura is going through trauma as a result of her violent marriage and lack of financial stability. It can hence be understood that the Mental Health Service provided by the Australian government can be regarded as highly important (Whiteford et al., 2014). In addition to this the Child Protection and Family Care service will be helpful for the education of the children. This program will help in addressing any urgent need of financial support that is required to continue education of her children.

Conclusion

To conclude, it can be said that the Australian government has come up with various welfare programs in order to support to the various needs of the citizens. Laura can also be provided with the assistance of these services in order to overcome her crisis. The welfare programs to support homeless and unemployed people will be highly effective in helping Laura. By taking up the assistance of these programs Laura will be able to find both accommodation and employment. The Family Care Services will be an additional help for the education of her children.

References

Bateman, J., Henderson, C., & Kezelman, C. (2013). Trauma-informed care and practice: Towards a cultural shift in policy reform across mental health and human services in Australia. Mental Health Coordinating Council.

Duckett, S., & Willcox, S. (2015). The Australian health care system (No. Ed. 5). Oxford University Press.

Kemp, S. P., Marcenko, M. O., Lyons, S. J., & Kruzich, J. M. (2014). Strength-based practice and parental engagement in child welfare services: An empirical examination. Children and Youth Services Review, 47, 27-35.

Kröger, T., & Yeandle, S. (Eds.). (2013). Combining paid work and family care. Policy Press.

McGorry, P., Bates, T., & Birchwood, M. (2013). Designing youth mental health services for the 21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(s54), s30-s35.

Powell, J. L., & Hendricks, J. (2014). Welfare State in Post-industrial Society. Springer.

Whiteford, H., McKeon, G., Harris, M., Diminic, S., Siskind, D., & Scheurer, R. (2014). System-level intersectoral linkages between the mental health and non-clinical support sectors: a qualitative systematic review. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(10), 895-906.

Willis, E., Reynolds, L., & Keleher, H. (Eds.). (2016). Understanding the Australian health care system. Elsevier Health Sciences.