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Welfare rights means the rights of people to be aware of and receive their maximum entitlement to state welfare benefits, and to be treated reasonably well by the welfare system. It has been established in theUnited Kingdom since 1969 and has also been developed in other countries includingIreland,Australia and theUnited States. It became necessary because of the complexity of the UK social security system and had links at the time with a growingClaimants Union movement. As local authorities realized the advantages of having well-informed front-line staff such as housing officers and social workers, who often have to deal with benefit queries as part of their wider tasks, they turned to welfare rights staff to provide that expertise for both training and handling complex cases. In the 1980s, as local authorities took on the wider 'equalities' agenda, anti-poverty work was seen as a valid local activity in itself. Increasing benefit income helps individuals but also boosts the local economy.
Somelocal authorities andvoluntary sector organisations, such as theCitizens Advice Bureau, employ paid or volunteer welfare rights advisers. These advisers usually offer free, impartial and independent advice, information and support on all aspects ofsocial security benefits and tax credits, including free representation at aFirst-tier Tribunal andUpper Tribunal, which are administered by the UKMinistry of Justice.
Welfare rights advice and representation is also provided by somesolicitors,barristers and independent advisers or companies. These advisers may charge a fee or they might provide limitedpro-bono (free) advice and assistance.
Welfare rights advisers generally offer expert lay legal advice in dealings with public departments, such aslocal authorityHousing Benefit andCouncil Tax Benefit services,Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and theDepartment for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Welfare rights advisers will generally:
Welfare rights advisers often use acase management system to help them manage their work. These can be paper based, computer based or online.
Welfare rights officers are often closely allied with campaigning groups and charities such as theChild Poverty Action Group (CPAG),Citizens Advice Bureau and London Advice Service Alliance (LASA), for example. These organizations are respected for their training and publications, which are used extensively by advisers throughout the UK, as well as their campaigning activities.
Welfare rights advisers' professional organization is theNational Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) at a UK level;Scotland has its ownprofessional association,Rights Advice Scotland (RAS).
TheFlemming Rule of 1960, named afterArthur Flemming, was an administrative ruling which decreed that states could not deny income assistance eligibility through theAid to Families with Dependent Children program on the basis of a home being considered unsuitable per the woman's children being termed as illegitimate.
In 1963Johnnie Tillmon founded ANC (Aid to Needy Children) Mothers Anonymous, which was one of the first grassroots welfare mothers’ organizations, and which eventually became part of theNational Welfare Rights Organization.[1]
TheNational Welfare Rights Organization, active from 1966 to 1975, was an activist organization that fought for the welfare rights of people, especially women and children. The organization had four goals: adequate income, dignity, justice, and democratic participation.Johnnie Tillmon was the first chair of the organization.[2]
King v. Smith, 392 U.S. 309 (1968), was a decision in which the Supreme Court held thatAid to Families with Dependent Children could not be withheld because of the presence of a "substitute father" who visited a family on weekends.
In April 1991Cheri Honkala founded theKensington Welfare Rights Union, a progressive social justice, political action, and advocacy group of, by, and for the poor and homeless which is operating out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and led by Galen Tyler.