The article under review is called ‘While Congress Cuts Taxes, Children and Families Are Left Without Health Insurance and Support Services.’ The authors, Novoa and Chalhoub, criticize Congress’s inadequate economic policy (2018). They claim it ignored the need to finance two major social programs: the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) (Novoa & Chalhoub, 2018). The article highlights the dire consequences of Congress’s actions for the mentioned social programs and the people they support.
The two major organizations involved in this situation are CHIP and MIECHV. The former focuses on providing affordable health services for children and pregnant women (Novoa & Chalhoub, 2018). The latter offers various services for families who need additional support, including many families of color (Novoa & Chalhoub, 2018). To sum up, these programs provide vitally important services for people in need.
However, Congress’s actions prevent social workers from doing their job properly. Firstly, social services should be terminated only when they are “no longer required” or “no longer serve the clients’ needs or interests” (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], Section 1.17 Termination of Services, para.1). Secondly, one of the social workers’ primary values is social justice and the support of “vulnerable and oppressed” ones (National Association of Social Workers [NASW], Section Ethical Principles, para. 3). Therefore, by undermining the work of CHIV and MIECHV, Congress disregards the needs and interests of vulnerable social groups.
The article is published on the Center for American Progress’s website. They claim to be a progressive and “independent, nonpartisan policy institute” whose values include diversity and economic mobility (Center for American Progress, para. 1-2). It is not surprising that their authors decided to support the social programs, but it may have become a source of bias. Novoa and Chalhoub show only the bad consequences of Congress’s policy, ignoring its possible benefits. However, their claims are quite well-supported, and the article shows CHIP’s and MIECHV’s side of the story well.
In conclusion, the article criticizes Congress’s economic policy that failed to consider the vulnerable social groups’ needs by not financing two major programs – CHIV and MIECHV. It also violates the basic principles and standards of NASW, as social workers are forced to drop their clients in need who mostly belong to various vulnerable groups. Even though the article contains some bias, the authors’ stance seems to be well-described and well-supported.
References
Center for American Progress. (n.d.). About us.
National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.) Code of ethics: English.
Novoa, C., & Chalhoub, T. (2018). While Congress cuts taxes, children and families are left without health insurance and support services.Center for American Progress.