Sunday, February 16, 2014


Issue: Poverty

                Poverty is an issue that affects the entire country and continues to be a growing problem.  In the past decade there has been a substantial increase in poverty amongst young families, especially families with children.  (Sum, 2011)  Children are being effected in a very negative way by poverty along with their families.  These effects may consist of negative cognitive achievement, educational attainment, nutrition, physical and mental health, and social behavior. (Sum, 2011)  I believe that the key to helping children achieve success is through the support of the entire family.  The family is closely connected with the development of the children, and in order to stop poverty we need to support the whole child which includes their support system.  Studies have indicated that family policies that are aimed at dual-earner families and providing childcare for working parents could possibly be an effective way to reduce poverty. (Backman & Ferrarini, 2010) This information supports my theory that poverty is a problem and we must support the entire family in order to make a difference in the children’s lives.

                Austin Nichols (2013, September 10) wrote a blog post about poverty and ways to stop the negative effects that these unfortunate circumstances have on numerous individuals.  He provided many statistics about the current poverty levels in the US, such as 16 million children live in poverty in our country. (Nichols, 2013)  The statistics are important to justify a change but the question remains, how can this problem be solved?  Within Nichols’ blog he suggested providing children with cash benefits for families living in poverty, this would include a cash payout of about $400 a month. (Nichols, 2013)  This blog started rich conversation about the possible effectiveness of such a plan and there seemed to be mixed reviews about the topic.  After reading the post I am not sure that this is a feasible solution, although in theory it sounds appropriate.

                When I first read the blog I thought that providing children with a sort of income would be a great way to help them get their necessities.  However, I worry that there is not an effective way to monitor the money once the children receive such an income.  Individuals living in poverty can currently receive support, and we seem to have difficulty monitoring such a large amount of monetary funding.  I would be concerned that the children would not be benefitting from the money provided.  New initiative is helping the poorest “graduate” to better lives, (2011) suggested providing families with food, the ability to increase income, build assets and “graduate” to better their lives.  As a nation and country I believe that we need to figure out a system that focuses on meeting the children’s needs, this maybe through the parents or directly to the child.  We are going to have to specifically look at each person’s locations, needs, concerns, and reliability.  Although I do not completely agree with the blog post, I referred to earlier, I understand the need for action to help the families living in poverty.

Questions:

How can we monitor supports going to families living in poverty?

How can we determine if a specific support is working for a family?

What systems are currently working that we can build upon?

What resources do we need in order to meet all children‘s/family’s needs?

Where are the funds going to come from if we determine that children need more income?

What government level should be in charge of making these decisions or should it be a group decision?

References:

Bäckman, O., & Ferrarini, T. (2010). Combating child poverty? A multilevel assessment of family policy institutions and child poverty in 21 old and new welfare states. Journal of Social Policy, 39(2), 275-296.

New initiative is helping the poorest "graduate" to better lives. (2011). Appropriate Technology, 38(2), 47-48. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1325197081?accountid=14872

Nichols, A. (2013, September 10).  We can end poverty. Or, at least, do more. Retrieved from http://blog.metrotrends.org/2013/09/end-child-poverty/

Sum, A.  (2011). The Impact of Rising Poverty on the Nation’s Young Families and Their Children, 2000-2010, Children’s Defense Fund.