...Laws add another layer of support for children. Child abuse can be noticed through varies cultures and life styles. Poverty can influence child abuse in the form of parent’s incapability of obtaining the resources and necessitates their child needs. The diversity of cultures and the environment children live in can find child abuse acceptable or some circumstances might be seen differently in varies parts of the world. Laws have been created to protect children from being abused, neglected, and used. In 1989, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, was declared to seek the best interest of the child by making the child a “primary consideration,” and declaring that appropriate measures should be taken to protect children from harm...
Words: 252 - Pages: 2
...Under what economic conditions are children living across the United States? Child poverty and its misfortunes By: Racheal H. Caldwell A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of CST5006 – Survey of Research Methodology Racheal H. Caldwell May 2013 Address: 22-04 Collier Ave Apt 5H Far Rockaway NY 11691 Phone: 347-985-6673 Email: racheal_caldwell@yahoo.com Instructor: Kathy Blaydes Abstract The United States economy is going through a phenomenon described as “globalization” of an economy or global competition. A very large part of global competition involves the development of a strong labor force, and this development starts with the nurturing of children (Ozawa, Soo, & Kim 2004). A great challenge lives in the United States and by international standards; the United States has the highest proportion of children in low income families than any other industrialized country (Smeeding, Torrey, & Rain 2002). It is believed that the reasoning for children’s income status being relatively low is due to adults and the elderly. In the proposed research, we will: examine the published research on child poverty that impacts social and behavioral studies and define the scope and nature of problem and discuss strategies for solving this problem. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches will be used to examine diverse perspectives and factors associated with child poverty. In addition, we will summarize key findings of research and different...
Words: 3075 - Pages: 13
...Poverty and Children in the United States Patsy Fox Soc 120 June 26, 2011 Barbara Romero Poverty and Children in the United States The United States is one of the richest nations in the world, and yet millions of Americans live at or below the poverty level and many more struggle each month not to fall into this category. Unfortunately, the number of children in our society that are living in poverty is increasing daily. Many of these children are from single-parent homes where the parent is not working or have become disabled. Early parenthood is also a big contributor to this situation. Poverty in the United States is largely due to low family incomes and the declining job market. Poverty can best be described as the lack of resources to meet the basic needs of healthy living, or not having sufficient income to provide food, shelter, and clothing for oneself or one’s family. The causes of families finding themselves in this type of situation are continuing to grow on a daily basis. In today’s economy, often people find themselves losing their jobs and living in areas where job opportunities are slim at best. Lack of education can also limit the opportunities that are available to an individual. With the economic downturn that we have experienced, many American’s are faced with the loss of long time jobs when factories and business close suddenly. Many of these individuals may find themselves completely unprepared for today’s job market because they have been in their...
Words: 1902 - Pages: 8
...Poverty and Children in the United States Kenneth Pike SOC/120 March 28, 2011 Onesphor Kyara Poverty and Children in the United States The children of the United States should not have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from or worried if they will have a nice warm bed to sleep in for the night. There are so many children that are born into the United States that do not ask to have to live in poverty each and every day. There are many of us that have been at a stop light and seen the people that are wearing the dirty torn clothes asking for help because they are hungry and have no money. Most of these people are homeless or live in poverty. There are many factors to why we as a nation have so many children that are living in poverty and it needs to change, as these children are our future and will carry on the legacy of the United States. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but it is considered the second behind Mexico in the amount of children that live in poverty. This is very alarming to read or hear that our children of the next generation are living in today’s society homeless and starving, because there family is taking money away from one bill to pay the other bill. In 2009 the number of people that are living in poverty was the largest in 51 years. The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased across all types of families: married-couple families (5.8 percent and 3.4 million in...
Words: 1961 - Pages: 8
...Children & Poverty in the United States Children & Poverty in the United States Kylon D. Shipp SOC120 University of Phoenix In the United States, there are millions of families with children who live at or below the poverty guidelines set by the federal government. The federal poverty income level is around $22,050 a year for a family of four, and it takes about twice that amount to cover the basic needs and expenses of a family of this size (National Center for Children in Poverty, August, 2010). Although most parents are employed, the low pay wages these days tend to leave these families in a constant struggle to provide for their children. Most states have programs that help families that have a lower income take care of their children’s basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical expenses. However, children who grow up in poverty may still be affected by poor health and mental health issues. Poverty has also been known to affect a child’s ability to learn and leaves them at a greater risk for emotional, social, or behavioral problems. Research shows that poverty is the highest threat to a child’s well-being (National Center for Children in Poverty, August, 2010). Since 1964 when the war on domestic poverty was declared, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars helping large and small towns across the country. They have repaired old homes, helped people find jobs, and also provided free food for those who are living in poverty. Despite the...
Words: 1829 - Pages: 8
...didn’t think of them in this way since starting class and doing the research we’ve done, have taught me so much. Many of society issues are social inequality, poverty, urbanization, discrimination against race, and culture. When learning about these issues, I’ve decided to do my paper on Poverty and Children in the United States. Poverty within the United States has become a major issue that affects our society and at hand families with children are coming face to face with this issue every day of their life. Poverty has become a major issue in our society today due to the result of our economy and the decision that one makes in life. And sad to say when the economy is always on the defense at failing, the children of our society have to pay a high price. There’s many reason and factors that can be related to one’s poverty. Some factors that can take place to which can place a child at poverty could be, single parent, unemployment, homelessness, abuse, or mother having more kids she can take care of. Over time history shows that poverty in the United States has raised a great deal. Many of us can’t even imagine how it feel to live in poverty, even if it’s looking us right in our eyes, we still try not to picture ourselves in that place. Poverty means can range from so much, and not just from not having enough money. Poverty truly mean not having enough of everything you need in order to take care of your household, money, and food is the main source. Not being able to having enough...
Words: 1845 - Pages: 8
...Poverty in America: An Overview Stephanie Tran Pol S 310 Professor Strohman Iowa State University Some people may argue that the American dream is no longer achievable. Perhaps it was, but as time lapses and history takes its course, the pursuit itself may appear meeker. Today, most people would agree that the economy “is bad,” but what does that truly mean? A “bad economy” may impact some families on a more personal level than it appears. There are 20.6 million people in the United States who live in deep poverty, 6 million of whom have no income (Edelman). A family that lives in poverty is not always obvious to the eye. When a person thinks of “poverty,” he or she may think of developing countries with people who live with little to no food, shelter, or clothing. They may think of the too-thin African children in black and white commercials with the sad music trying to guilt viewers to send money. However, in America, poverty is a little more complex than that, and standards for poverty here are different than that of Africa, Asia, or Mexico. While poverty in the United States may still include an income, free education for children, and a place to live, it still may entail food insecurity, debt, lack of basic necessities, and the weight of stress and pressure from society that can take a huge emotional toll on a family. Poverty in the United States is a very real problem, and many people are unaware of the impacts of it. In the United States, the poverty rate...
Words: 2437 - Pages: 10
...Child abuse is a state of emotional, physical, economic and sexual maltreatment meted out to a person below the age of eighteen and is a globally prevalent phenomenon. It has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the health and over-all well-being of a child. It may include physical or mental ill-treatment, sexual abuse, malnutrition and many others which are responsible for hindrance of a healthy growing body of a child. Children who are normally born in poor families areoften subjected to work at shorter ages and are usually underpaid and harassed both mentally and physically. Child abuse is a violation of the basic human rights of a child and is an outcome of a set of inter-related, social, psychological and economic factors. While certain child abuse and neglected issues are common in almost all countries at the global level such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, problems of street children, there are also many issues which are prevalent only in certain regions of the world.For instance, in Asia where population density is high, the issues of child labor and child sexual exploitation are also high. The largest population of children in the world live in South Asia and majority of these children lack access to proper health care, nutrition and education. This reflects the socio-economic reality of the developing countries of the Asian region. The main...
Words: 2518 - Pages: 11
...Child Labor: Threatening the economy and well-being of children Child labor has existed throughout American history and throughout the world for many years. A quote from Lewis Hine in 1980 states: "There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profits only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work.” As factories started to assemble, most owners preferred children as their workers because the owners thought them as “more manageable, cheaper and less likely to strike.” The industries children usually worked for were mines, glass factories, textiles, agriculture, canneries, home industries, newsboys, messengers, bootblack and peddlers. During the Industrial Revolution, children at four years old were employed and dealing with dangerous and sometimes fatal working conditions. Now, because of new child labor laws in the United States, industries are going overseas to produce their product in countries that still use child labor. Developed countries consider these actions to be human rights violations and are illegal, while some undeveloped countries will allow or tolerate child labor. These children who are in these factories in different countries are costing the company less because of their wages, when they could have their factories in the States, producing jobs and cash flow in our economy. Child labor violates the common good by threatening the long-term growth of the economy and the well-being...
Words: 3347 - Pages: 14
...Is Childhood Poverty Increasing Inequality In America? Is childhood poverty increasing inequality in America? The test of our progress," said Franklin Roosevelt, "is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have too much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." It is by that great test that we must measure our progress in the years ahead. John F. Kennedy, 1960' (Lindsey, pg 34, 2009) Children born in America are promised equality and opportunity. How well is America keeping its promise to 1 in 4 children living in poverty? The Bible teaches we are created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Each child is born with God's DNA but not all children grow up in a world conducive to developing their God-given potential and dreams. Not all children are given equal opportunity. "Their economic and social development will be primarily influenced by the opportunities their parents, community, and society provide" (Lindsey, 2009, p. 3). What defines childhood poverty? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines child poverty as "a child is deemed to be living in relative poverty if he or she is growing up in a household where disposable income, when adjusted for family size and composition, is less than 50% of the median disposable household income for the country concerned" (Garofalo, 2012, p. 1). The United States Census Bureau for 2011 qualified the poverty threshold for a family of four as $22,281 annual income...
Words: 1710 - Pages: 7
...Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Paper no. 1044-94 Long-Term Poverty and Child Development in the United States: Results from the NLSY Sanders Korenman Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Center for Population Analysis and Policy University of Minnesota Jane E. Miller Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research Rutgers University John E. Sjaastad Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs University of Minnesota September 1994 This research was funded by a grant from the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. An earlier version of part of this paper appeared as part of Office of Population Research Working Paper No. 93-5, Princeton University, June 1993, which contains supplemental analyses and is available from the authors. We thank participants in seminars at the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, Princeton University, the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the 1993 meetings of the Population Association of America for their comments. Abstract The authors describe developmental deficits in early childhood associated with long-term poverty in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). They compare estimates of the effects of long-term poverty (based on a thirteen-year average of income) to estimates of the effects of poverty based on a single year of income (at the time of developmental assessment). They find substantial developmental deficits among...
Words: 4410 - Pages: 18
...How tax strategies impact on the Social Economic Problem? We are going to highlight some social issues and whether the tax strategy is effective in dealing with the issues. The issues discussed include the issue of urbanisation on vacant land, child poverty, inflation and unemployment. Issue 1: Tax Penalty: Eliminate Land Speculation and Vacant Land to avoid Poverty The urbanisation level of 56.25% in South Africa has recorded the world highest level in 2001. The “Apartheid City was a political economy of space which was based on two policies, i.e. racially-based spatial planning and development for some at the expense of others”. Cities were purposely designed to push poor black citizens to the margins of the city. Thus, the black population were materially distanced from advantages normally associated with city life”. With the abolition of Apartheid in 1994, the new government made a commitment to redress these imbalances and inequality and to create cities that are more equal, inclusionary, productive and sustainable. Although 1.6 million houses have been provided since 1994, they have tended to enforce traditional apartheid planning where the poor are still located on the periphery, far removed from employment and economic opportunities. This has resulted in increased urban sprawl and de-densification. Furthermore, the subsidy on public transport was more than double that spent on housing subsidy but the house prices has increased by an average of 20% per year. Land...
Words: 3299 - Pages: 14
...under age eighteen lived in families with incomes below the official poverty threshold. Although children age eighteen and under represent 26 percent of the United States population, they comprise nearly 40 percent of the poverty population. Despite a steady decrease from 1993 (23%) to 1999 (17%) in the rate of children in poverty, the United States still ranks highest in childhood poverty among all industrialized nations. In the United States, income poverty is defined by the poverty threshold, developed in 1959 and based on expected food expenditures (thrifty food basket) for families of varying sizes. Each year the threshold is adjusted for the Consumer Price Index cost of living. In 1999, the poverty threshold for a single mother raising two children was $13,423. Researchers have criticized the poverty threshold on numerous counts. First, government transfers such as food stamps and housing subsidies as well as tax benefits (e.g., the Earned Income Tax Credit) and tax payments are not included when assessing the poverty threshold. Second, regional and urban differences in the cost of living are not considered when computing the poverty threshold. Despite the criticisms levied against the way poverty is assessed in the United States, the current review highlights research that has used this definition of poverty, while acknowledging its weaknesses. This article reviews the literature linking family poverty to children's cognitive and educational outcomes such as achievement...
Words: 2189 - Pages: 9
...Poverty: Who are the poor in the United States? When most people think of the United States they think, the land of the free and the place were dreams come true. Living in the US, there is no limit for advancement and opportunity. No man, woman or child should ever go hungry or want for anything. Here in the US we have more cars on the road and more skyscrapers in large cities than anywhere. In small towns, there are wheat fields and cornfields for miles and miles. As an American living in the US, when we think of poverty we think of countries like India where women wash their clothes in ditches alongside main roads in Mumbai. In countries like Africa Ethiopian men, women and children may go days without a meal, sometime weeks. Examining third world countries and their poverty level, does it cross our minds that poverty really exist here in the United States? Poverty levels in the US do not compare to the poverty level in third world countries. Poverty in a third world country is measured in the terms of absolute poverty, where a person lives in conditions he/she does not have the means to meet the basic needs in life. Their living conditions could be life threaten. Here in the US, poverty level is measured in the terms of relative poverty. According to the article reviewed by Thomas J. Corbett entitled “Poverty” (2008), “Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages....
Words: 1236 - Pages: 5
...emotional and the cognitive development of the child. This article will be useful to anyone wondering about some of the struggles of low-income single mother households and the adverse effect on the child. Empirical articles were used to support the research of this article. The article supports the notion that low-income single mothers are often in a great struggle to pull themselves out of poverty. More readily available resources for single mothers including on-the-job training and financial resources for single mothers to be able to go back to school would greatly help low-income single mothers as they try to successfully raise their families. Keywords: single mother, low-income families, poverty The Effects of Living in Low-Income Single Mother Families The number of single-mother families in the United States has continued to increase steadily in the past few years. With close to 25 percent (one-fourth) of the 75 million children that are under the age of 18 in the United States being raised by single-mothers, this specific demographic is clearly one that cannot be ignored (Mather, 2010). The dramatic rise of children living in single-mother families has caused significant concern among policy makers and the public (Mather, 2010). Studies have pinpointed the rise in single-parent families predominantly that of single mother and child households, as a key aspect in the incessant upsurge in child poverty in the United States (Mather, 2010). Single mothers are often faced...
Words: 3100 - Pages: 13
