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You are a teacher/social worker and you have the children of Dee (11 year old Clare) and Kate (5 year old Elliot) from the individual scenarios in Chapter 1 in your class/on your caseload. What issues would they face be coming to your school/caseload with as a result of them living in poverty? How will these issues effect learning, development or progress on a daily basis at school? What you do to assist them and possible their mothers to address these issues?

Be sure that your response answers all the the prompts/questions in the assignment. Take into account the individual situations of each parent and their situations and what they’re dealing as an impoverished family. Make sure that you’re completing this assignment from the prospective of a teacher or social worker within the school.

This assignment must be at a minimum, 2 full pages in length, double spaced, 12 point font (Times New Roman).

Dees child Clare was entered into a homeless shelter

Elliot is 5 but growing up through poverty

attached is a outline of the reading this prompt is only based off Kates and Dees kids.

Chapter 1: Putting a Face on Poverty

Dee

• Victim of Domestic Violence
• Grew Up In a Impoverished Home
  • Economically, Socially & Spiritually
• Use of Social Services to get back on her feet
• Cycle of Impoverished Issues in Her Family
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Drug abuse
• Doesn’t wish to be dependent on welfare
  • Too proud to complain
  • Has previous work experience
  • Views working as a must to take advantage
  • Been out of work for so long
    • No Computer Experience
  • Dee is willing to work in fast food
    • $900 per month
    • Other jobs are hard to find
    • Kept below a certain amount of hours
      • Boss didn’t want to pay for fringe benefits
      • Working without healthcare and has a child

Dee’s Poverty

• Makes about $11K/yr
  • Below poverty index
• Lives in Trailer Park
  • All she could afford
    • That’s still $425 a month
  • Neighborhood not so great
• No Health Insurance
• Clare left home while Dee works
• Situation makes welfare an option
• Works hard but hard work is getting her no where

Low Wage/Minimum Wage & Poverty

• Full time minimum wage keeps you below poverty
• $10, 712/yr
  • 2K below poverty index for family of 2
  • 4K below poverty index for family of 4
• Low wage workers are disproportionately female, minority and young without a college education
  • Single parent homes
• Work non standard work shifts/schedules
  • Greatly impacts single parent households (esp women)
  • Non standard schedules are mandatory for certain jobs
    • Cashiers, maids, nursing aids, cooks, retail, fast food
  • No job security
  • Turnover is high

Childcare for Working Poor

• Income is low though childcare is expensive
• 40% of working poor families spend more than half of their income on childcare
  • 23% of working poor families spend more than 50% of income of childcare
  • Children left home to care for themselves

Kate

• Married with two children
  • Children born back to back
• Assistant manager who earned $1700/mo
  • Daycare was $1200/mo
• Kate quit her job; husband began working overnight
  • Stress ensues
  • Divorced
• Goes back to work
  • Making $4 less than she previously did
• Rent takes up half her income
• Receives child support
  • $600 per month
  • Only comes sporadically though
• Sold her car to help pay bills
• Applied for welfare and Medicaid
  • Turned down for earning too much
  • Couldn’t get health insurance at job because she hadn’t been there for a year
• Applied for subsidized housing
  • Waiting list was two years
  • Would have to move into housing project
    • Safety concerns
    • Son would have to go to a new school

Child Support

• Non custodial parent have legal obligation to support children financially
• Usually not a lot
• 40% of single parents receive no support
• Full amount is hardly ever paid
  • Even though less than 10% of fathers who work live below the poverty line

Poverty & Transportation

• Transportation plays an essential role in finding and keeping employment
  • Barrier to those in poverty
  • Can’t afford cars or reliable ones

Robert & Maria

• Both have some college
  • Robert left to do construction
  • Maria has degree in cosmetology
• Both have employable skills or skills that they can generate income without necessarily having a job
• Home owners
• Large family
  • 4 children
  • A set of twins
• Robert earned $3000/mo
  • Health benefits
  • Income supported family frugally
  • Retirement plan
• Maria quits job to become stay at home mom
• Recession hits
  • Layoffs at Robert’s job
  • Had to pay more health insurance
  • Benefits eventually eliminated

Health Insurance

• 4 kids under 9 who were always going to the hospital
• Maria gets bladder infection
  • Prescription costs $140
• $650 bill for Levi’s ear infection hospital visit
• $4000 in debt after two years of no insurance
• $12000 bill for Robert’s appendix surgery
  • surgery forces him out of work

Robert & Maria (continued)

• Robert collect unemployment
  • Only a fraction of his fraction
• Maria has to find a job to help out
  • Didn’t want to work
  • Also has 4 kids
    • How will she manage
  • Robert cannot do construction due to physical strain
  • Maria becomes the breadwinner
    • Goes back to cosmetology
    • Doesn’t earn much
    • Family Living in poverty

Childcare

• $700/mo for each twin
  • $1400/month
• Found someone to watch them for $600/mo
  • Still a burden on them
• Extended family offered assistance as they could
  • Offered to help with some medical expenses
  • Donated clothes to children

Robert and Maria (continued)

• Income drops to $1500 per month
  • Down from $3000
  • Wouldn’t file for bankruptcy
  • Wouldn’t sell the home

What makes Robert and Maria different from Kate and Dee?

• Married two parent household
• Marketable skills
• Poverty seems short term
  • Illness or unexpected event led to temporary poverty
  • Poverty isn’t always long term
• Health insurance crucial to their situation
  • Lack of insurance left them in debt
  • Ppl w/o health insurance forgo going to the doctor until end up in the emergency room
    • Hospital bill more expensive then
      • Robert’s appendix issue is an example

Conclusion

• Poverty is diverse
• Poverty is structural
  • Most families are poor because of structural conditions not laziness
• Sociological Imagination
  • Understanding the importance between individuals and the society in which they live
  • We tend to look solely at the individual and not society
• Capitalism aids poverty
• Prejudice and poverty
  • People assume blacks and Hispanics are lazy
  • Poverty is feminized
    • Lower wages to women
  • Solution to poverty is structural in nature