Of 35 industrialized countries, the U.S. is ranked #2 in Child Poverty Rates?
Child poverty can also affect future generations?
Low wages & unstable employment are some of the causes of child poverty?
Poverty affects every aspect of a child's well-being and development?
That the U.S. CAN lower the child poverty rate by 60%?
According to the Children's Defense Fund (n.d.) (CDF), if the U.S. invested 2% of their federal budget into the policies and programs below, they would be able to lower the child poverty rate by 60%!
UNICEF (n.d.) also has multiple projects and tools in regards to measuring and influencing child poverty programs and policies.
The National Center for Children in Poverty (n.d.) (NCCP) offers multiple tools and programs which help to not only influence change in child poverty policies and programs but also offer information in regards to the statistics, the effects, and way to prevent or help lessen the burden of poverty. Some of those programs and tools are:
- Improving the Odds for Young Children
- offers ways to help strengthen current policy decisions affecting the health, development and academic readiness of children in poverty.
- Making Work Supports Work
- helps state and national "policymakers improve supports for low-wage workers and their families"
- Resilience in Low-Income Families
- A research project which looks at the characteristics of resilient low-income families and how they can help policy makers and practitioners learn about building resiliency for other families.
- Two-Generation Policies for Young Children and Families in Deep Poverty
- a project that "examines the well-being and life circumstances of young children in deep poverty and policies and programs that can help them- and their parents- move toward opportunity"
There were many articles on the ZERO TO THREE website, but this infographic caught my eye:
There are so many different organizations, programs, research projects etc. that are working to help children and families rise out of poverty. Although we've come a long way, there's still more to do. I can only hope, that when I'm armed with the experience and knowledge, i too can help fight for, and advocate for these families and children.
References:
Children Defense Fund. (n.d.). Ending Child Poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/PovertyReport/EndingChildPovertyNow.html
National Center for Children in Poverty. (n.d.). Projects. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/projects/
UNICEF. (n.d.). Child poverty and social protection. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/index_childpoverty.html
Zero to Three. (2016). Poverty's effects on infants and toddlers infographic. Retrieved from https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/516-poverty-s-effect-on-infants-and-toddlers-infographic
Amy,
ReplyDeletei love, love, love that you used so many insightful graphics. It helps me to really understand the gravity of poverty and how many children are affected. I will be adding Zero to Three to my list of resources to review. This week has been eye opening to the effects poverty has on our children and the damage it can cause. As always thank you for furthering my development. :)
-Allison Giles
Hello Amy:
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all the wonderful graphs and statistics on your blog. Your layout and explanations are easy to follow. The statistic that stands out to me is that the U.S. is ranked #2 in child poverty. It is very disturbing to know that we as a nation are failing our children. As the Child Defense Fund shared that a “2 percent investment from government would reduce poverty by 60 percent” (Children Defense Fund. (n.d.). It is only my opinion, but I do not believe that our country wants to solve the issue of poverty. Politics continue to get in the way and the children and families suffer. Locally, restaurants throw away food on a daily basis instead of sending it to a shelter or other organizations that serve homeless or low-income families for fear of a lawsuit. The information you shared is very clear that children are affected by poverty before they are born and continue to fall behind if their environment and conditions are not changed. The amazing part of learning about the challenges relating to poverty is it creates opportunities for early childhood professions to stretch beyond their comfort zones to make a difference in the lives of the children and families they serve.
REFERENCE
Children Defense Fund. (n.d.). Ending Child Poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/PovertyReport/EndingChildPovertyNow.html
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog due to excellent resources. I was blown away just how much a child loses their ability to develop at age two. That gap is so vital and like you said with the help of some funding that gap can be closed quick! I know Dr. Grace stated that from "birth to eight, it is much more damaging than if a child was say, middle income, family situations change" (Laureate, 2013) and they will continue to change if we don't advocate for it.
Again, excellent resources and facts. Thank you for sharing.