It
is no secret that African American children are overrepresented in the foster
care system but one of the primary contributing factors is poverty. According to the Bread
for the World article, 27.6 % of African Americans live in poverty and that
the African American child hunger and poverty rates are even greater than the
national averages (bread for the world).
African
American families living in acute poverty are at a disadvantage for getting housing,
physical and mental health needs. While many
families facing acute poverty receive supplemental government assistance, it is not enough
to meet their daily needs. Therefore children go hungry and unkempt, which could
attract the attention of children advocates and could lead to child welfare involvement.
My question is, what other ways can the government
assist families who are experiencing acute poverty? Will
providing more housing vouchers or building more affordable housing help lower
the percentage of African American children in the foster care system? Or
carrying the minimum wage up, so that families can afford to purchase food and
clothing for their children? Or perhaps, the government can provide these
families with car vouchers so that they do not feel limited to work certain jobs
or work certain amount of hours because of the public transport schedule? What is your view??
The government instituting vouchers and Section 8 programs to provide affordable housing are good programs. But if they are not enforced or people misuse them, I don't think that people who really need them receive them. I think that the programs should be reviewed to make sure that they are operating correctly and those who really are in need are the recipients. But is it only the government's responsibility to ensure that poverty ends? I think that it is society's issue as well. In order to end poverty, I think that American society should come together to find a solution so that all Americans will have their basic needs met. I think that some people have the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil mentality. If we close our eyes to what is happening then we do not have to provide a solution. If we pretend that we do not hear the cries of those needing help then we do not have to tell anyone. If we do not acknowledge that there is an issue with poverty then we do not have to find a solution.
ReplyDeleteI think there's no silver bullet, no one single policy that could decrease poverty. It is always a combination of several policies, very often different in every country and every region. Here is a video of French economist Eshter Duflo, that deals with this problem http://www.ted.com/talks/esther_duflo_social_experiments_to_fight_poverty.html. It is definitely worth watching.
ReplyDeleteAs an economic student interested in developmental economics I've learned that sometimes policies that seem very reasonable and helpful, don't really help. One of these is the minimum wage policy, that has proven to cause increase in unemployment and do not benefit the poorest. My blog is about it, so I invite you there for more information. The problem with minimum wage is that is helps only people who have jobs and a most of the poorest people are so poor because they do not have jobs. This type of help do not go directly to them and often it actually benefits these who don't need it (working teenagers from middle-class families).
In my opinion affordable housing program can be helpful but only if it is controlled enough and in case of any violations sanctions are immediately executed. At the same time very often giving people things for free doesn't really help, because they do not value what they got without putting any effort into it.
What I believe would be the most efficient is constant, easily available assistance for people who want to break away from poverty. Very often people just do not know if there are any options for them, any help. They do not know how to look for a job or apply for government help. I think that education is the key in reducing poverty.