LMSW Social Policy and Advocacy 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Social Security Act of 1935 originally established which two major social insurance programs?
- Old-Age Insurance and Unemployment Compensation (Correct answer)
- Medicare and Medicaid
- TANF and SNAP
- Workers' Compensation and Disability Insurance
Correct answer: Old-Age Insurance and Unemployment Compensation
The Social Security Act of 1935 created Old-Age Insurance (retirement benefits) and Unemployment Compensation as its two cornerstone social insurance programs.
Question 2: Which advocacy strategy involves working through established political and institutional channels to bring about policy change?
- Community organizing
- Insider strategy (Correct answer)
- Grassroots mobilization
- Direct action
Correct answer: Insider strategy
The insider strategy involves working within existing governmental or institutional systems—such as lobbying legislators or testifying at hearings—to influence policy.
Question 3: Title XIX of the Social Security Act established which program?
- Medicare
- Social Security Disability Insurance
- Medicaid (Correct answer)
- Children's Health Insurance Program
Correct answer: Medicaid
Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1965 established Medicaid, a joint federal-state program providing health coverage to low-income individuals.
Question 4: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaced AFDC with which program?
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (Correct answer)
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
Correct answer: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
PRWORA replaced the entitlement program AFDC with TANF, a block grant program that imposed work requirements and a 60-month lifetime benefit limit.
Question 5: Which federal law prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment, public services, and public accommodations?
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Fair Housing Act of 1968
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Correct answer)
- Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
Correct answer: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is the comprehensive federal civil rights law prohibiting disability-based discrimination across employment, transportation, and public accommodations.
Question 6: In policy practice, 'macro social work' primarily refers to interventions at which level?
- Individual and family
- Group and peer
- Community, organizational, and societal (Correct answer)
- Clinical and therapeutic
Correct answer: Community, organizational, and societal
Macro social work focuses on large-scale change through community organizing, policy advocacy, and organizational administration rather than direct individual-level service.
Question 7: According to NASW's Code of Ethics, social workers have an ethical obligation to engage in social and political action primarily to:
- Increase their professional visibility
- Ensure clients access to needed resources and opportunities (Correct answer)
- Comply with agency requirements
- Satisfy continuing education mandates
Correct answer: Ensure clients access to needed resources and opportunities
NASW's Code of Ethics (Standard 6.04) obligates social workers to engage in social and political action to expand client access to resources, services, and opportunities.
LMSW Social Policy and Advocacy 1
The Social Security Act of 1935 originally established which two major social insurance programs?