Survival strategies after welfare reform are extensive are very from situation to situation.
In several cases women had to learn how to either adapt the working situation to their child care situations or adapt their working situations to their child care. Sometimes the mother would have to do both at different point during the need. While the child was young they typically found themselves having to adapt their working situations, but as the children grew older they learned ways to do the opposite.
These women also spent much time and energy concerned about the child care worth in child development and the actual quality of care. Though many of them found that at times they were not in complete control, they always felt the pull to try to adjust this. There were two significant solutions, kin care and subsidized care.
Kin care has proven unreliable and typically ending in with a negative toll on the mother and/or child, though they did prove successful in some situations for “initial, respite, and wraparound care for the families”. This was typically the best situation for “patch-work care” or care between finding other options of care. Many of the mothers in the study although did have to pay (whether in work exchange or for cash) for their kin care. The largest problem with kin care is the unreliability because the kin is an individual who has their own responsibilities as a typical member of the poor working class. Outside, unlicensed care has created much fear.
Chaudry explains that “Children with such experiences of poverty and family disorder benefit tremendously from a solid, stable developmental base of child care” (Chaudry, 183). Working mothers who try to find care outside of subsidized care often have to alter the care type and location, leaving the child at a disadvantage. It is explained that at the outset, working mothers often took care that was available to them through personal relationships with individual caregivers and that over time they developed stronger preference for agency-derived institutional care arrangements, which offered greater learning opportunities and stability. “In circumstances of great family and child need, quality preschool programs can serve as both a balm and a developing force for children coping with sever stresses of their family’s poverty.”
For example the subsidized care of Head Start helped out Sara exponentially while attempting to find care for her child Cristina. She found it to be the only means of stability that she could offer Cristina while living in homeless shelters. She felt the Cristina had a family there that she could feel comfortable with as well as advance intellectually. Chaudry explains that agency care may be more flexible, more stable and educational. It gives the mother peace of mind because she know where he child is and that educated agency workers tend to be more helpful and know how to “work the system”
In the course materials, the NPR radio discusses the result of welfare reform since it has been over 10 years since it began. They discussed that although women are now working, they are still not able to advance in their lives. They are now working twice as hard and under more difficult situations, away from their children.
Chaudry gives several suggestions to help improve the working mother’s situation. First he suggests that government increase funding for children’s programs and unite the system. This would most likely mean the extending of Head Start programs for example. Another solution that Chaudry explains is including preschool in public educational systems. He would also like to see new policy created that acknowledges single mothers in today’s working world. By this I believe that he means it is time to shed the “if they’re on welfare, they must be lazy” ideal. His last suggestion is to begin to work for changes in society in which cycle of poverty can be broken. It is proven that the poor parents have poor children who then go on to become poor parents. If this cycle can be more easily broken, we would no longer see so many families below the poverty line. Finally, he wants to make the system simpler- build up systems, coordinate across programs and educate children, because education is key to breaking the cycle.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Blog #11
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080817/NEWS/808170327
This article is the exact example shown throughout Chaudry’s arguments. It is about how a working mother found irony when told by a government employee that it may be easier to feed her family if she quit her second job.
One of the people in this article, Buck, is a single parent to six children. She earns too much money to qualify for food stamps. Her first job she uses just to cover her rent and her day care. The rest is for supplies and food. Her food pantry has seen a 64% increase in clients during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same time in 2007.
The article talks about how the working poor are getting hit the hardest because many “do not qualify for food stamps. People are also now beginning to make choices between “basic needs such as rent, food and medical care”.
The amount of food stamps given to a needy family is not substantial to the rising cost of food.
“Nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and meat are more expensive than many processed foods, so families whose budgets are being squeezed by escalating prices are forced to cut out many of those items, Albert said.”
Poor working women, of course are among the most impacted. They must work day in and day out to afford rent, child care, household necessities and whatever health care is available. Now they are being faced with keeping a close eye on not being paid a dollar more than what will qualify them for public assistance. If this is impacting the food that they eat, it is even more so impact the type of child care they use. When is comes to choosing between gas for the care and keeping the lights on, it is easy to see why many women resort to unlicensed care which may be cheaper than licensed care, as well as kin care, which has proven unreliable and typically not a permanent care option.
This article is the exact example shown throughout Chaudry’s arguments. It is about how a working mother found irony when told by a government employee that it may be easier to feed her family if she quit her second job.
One of the people in this article, Buck, is a single parent to six children. She earns too much money to qualify for food stamps. Her first job she uses just to cover her rent and her day care. The rest is for supplies and food. Her food pantry has seen a 64% increase in clients during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same time in 2007.
The article talks about how the working poor are getting hit the hardest because many “do not qualify for food stamps. People are also now beginning to make choices between “basic needs such as rent, food and medical care”.
The amount of food stamps given to a needy family is not substantial to the rising cost of food.
“Nutritious foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and meat are more expensive than many processed foods, so families whose budgets are being squeezed by escalating prices are forced to cut out many of those items, Albert said.”
Poor working women, of course are among the most impacted. They must work day in and day out to afford rent, child care, household necessities and whatever health care is available. Now they are being faced with keeping a close eye on not being paid a dollar more than what will qualify them for public assistance. If this is impacting the food that they eat, it is even more so impact the type of child care they use. When is comes to choosing between gas for the care and keeping the lights on, it is easy to see why many women resort to unlicensed care which may be cheaper than licensed care, as well as kin care, which has proven unreliable and typically not a permanent care option.
Blog #9
To begin with the first graph on the NCCP website displayed how minorities such as black, Latino and American Indian children are the most disadvantaged in the poverty scale. These are also the minorities that make up families that earn money below the poverty line. According to the web site, 35% of black children live in poor families, and “In the 10 most populated states, rates of child poverty among black children range from 20% in New Jersey to 42% in Ohio”. It shows that 28% of Latino children, 29% of American Indian, 11% of Asian children and 10% of white children live in poor families.
The site explains that having immigrant parents raises the child chance of being poor. This has a lot to do with the fact the many immigrant parents have unstable job conditions and are sometimes unreliable. Immigrant families, weather legal or undocumented have a harder time applying for public assistance because it may affect their family or extended family in negative ways.
Also, younger children are affected more so than children over the age of 6. “Researchers believe that parents of young children do not earn as much as parents of older children because they tend to be younger and have less work experience.” (NCCP) I also believe that this is because children under age 6 need expensive childcare while those over age 6 have the option of state and federal funder public school systems.
NCCP suggests two ways to help children in poverty. The fist is to develop strategies that help parents succeed in the labor force. “Policies such as earned income tax credits and regular increases in the minimum wage are critical to supporting income growth for low-wage workers. The second suggestion is to create more support for parents and their young children. This support could be through the Early Head Start program, which is proven very beneficial as well at involving preschool aged children in public schools.
The site explains that having immigrant parents raises the child chance of being poor. This has a lot to do with the fact the many immigrant parents have unstable job conditions and are sometimes unreliable. Immigrant families, weather legal or undocumented have a harder time applying for public assistance because it may affect their family or extended family in negative ways.
Also, younger children are affected more so than children over the age of 6. “Researchers believe that parents of young children do not earn as much as parents of older children because they tend to be younger and have less work experience.” (NCCP) I also believe that this is because children under age 6 need expensive childcare while those over age 6 have the option of state and federal funder public school systems.
NCCP suggests two ways to help children in poverty. The fist is to develop strategies that help parents succeed in the labor force. “Policies such as earned income tax credits and regular increases in the minimum wage are critical to supporting income growth for low-wage workers. The second suggestion is to create more support for parents and their young children. This support could be through the Early Head Start program, which is proven very beneficial as well at involving preschool aged children in public schools.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Blog #8
As shown in the course materials power point urban poverty is made up of many factors. Substandard wages, affordable housing, education, child care, health care and transportation make up these factors. These mothers typically have little to no education and therefore are force into minimum wage jobs. Minimum wage is not enough to keep a person afloat and this in turn effects what housing opportunities that are available. Child care is another major expense and as in Jessica’s story, can cost more than the rent of the housing. Many of these families will go without health care and may run into problems such as Iris Flores did when she incurred an upper respiratory infection, pushing her further away from saving money or paying bills. Transportation is also a large factor because these jobs may not be relatively close to their affordable housing. It becomes an especially larger problem when the mother does not live in a city with an expansive public transportation system (which most cities don’t have). Such as in Mallory’s case, though she would like to own a vehicle to broaden her job prospects, she is too consumed with just making ends meet.
Jessica has worked minimum wage jobs all her life and worries that her children will be in the same situation as she. She stresses to them the importance of academics and is disappointed that she cannot give her children a better life. She does not allow her children to play outside because she worried about the other children in the neighborhood may have negative effects on them. She has always tried to keep her children away from the worst communities; even if that means that she must live in the worst conditions of the acceptable communities.
Mothers who may be poor like Jessica, but that may live in different neighborhoods may not face the same fear as Jessica does. For a mother living in a mixed income neighborhood the fears may not as large for basic necessities such as security, health, and the children running with the wrong crowds or being influenced in a negative way by them. They may find it easier to find last-minute care situations and may have a better support system throughout the community.
Jessica has worked minimum wage jobs all her life and worries that her children will be in the same situation as she. She stresses to them the importance of academics and is disappointed that she cannot give her children a better life. She does not allow her children to play outside because she worried about the other children in the neighborhood may have negative effects on them. She has always tried to keep her children away from the worst communities; even if that means that she must live in the worst conditions of the acceptable communities.
Mothers who may be poor like Jessica, but that may live in different neighborhoods may not face the same fear as Jessica does. For a mother living in a mixed income neighborhood the fears may not as large for basic necessities such as security, health, and the children running with the wrong crowds or being influenced in a negative way by them. They may find it easier to find last-minute care situations and may have a better support system throughout the community.
Blog #7
Jacqueline and Julia faced many obstacles to find child care. Because of her minimum wage jobs she often had to switch child care arrangements in order to fit her rough schedule, variance in wages and the assistance that she received. She cycled through Father Care, Kin Care, Family Day Care and Day Care for months and often times had to take months off from work in between. She would gain availability to public assistance and then lose it again repetitively as she found work. She found the assistance to sometimes be unreliable and inconsistent causing her more trouble than necessary.
In Allen White’s case, he was working as a some-what custodian for approximately $9 per hour. He receives child support and 1 week of vacation each year. Although he does have these benefits, he still must live with his mother, 30 miles away from his place of employment. He brings up his frustration of being on medication, which is expensive enough to take away from other expenses he has. He has a 16 year old daughter who is living with him in the same situation. Though his daughter is older, he still has child care provided by his mother.
Iris Flores works two jobs, a school bus driver and as a custodian. She makes $10.89 per hour driving the bus and $8 per hour in her janitorial position. She has no sick days or vacation days and although she would like the health care and insurance offered by her employers, they are too expensive. This has cause her a recent problem when she got an upper respiratory infection and had to not only pay for her medical visits but also lose pay while out from work.
Delores McCoy worked in a janitorial position with a union for some time. Eventually the company she worked for was bought by new owners and the union was diminished. For the 18 months that the union did not exist she earned a mere $81 per week. Later the union was reestablished and she now makes $518 per week as well as has health care from Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Erin has been working at a grocery store so that she can live closer to home, with her family. She works a 40hour/week job and still cannot save up enough to move out of her family home.
Mallory from Ohio also works a full time job at minimum wage. She lives with her mother and pays rent to her. After her bills are paid she has little money to spend on personal items, such as hair spray and is stuck in this cycle because she cannot even save up enough money to buy herself a vehicle.
In Allen White’s case, he was working as a some-what custodian for approximately $9 per hour. He receives child support and 1 week of vacation each year. Although he does have these benefits, he still must live with his mother, 30 miles away from his place of employment. He brings up his frustration of being on medication, which is expensive enough to take away from other expenses he has. He has a 16 year old daughter who is living with him in the same situation. Though his daughter is older, he still has child care provided by his mother.
Iris Flores works two jobs, a school bus driver and as a custodian. She makes $10.89 per hour driving the bus and $8 per hour in her janitorial position. She has no sick days or vacation days and although she would like the health care and insurance offered by her employers, they are too expensive. This has cause her a recent problem when she got an upper respiratory infection and had to not only pay for her medical visits but also lose pay while out from work.
Delores McCoy worked in a janitorial position with a union for some time. Eventually the company she worked for was bought by new owners and the union was diminished. For the 18 months that the union did not exist she earned a mere $81 per week. Later the union was reestablished and she now makes $518 per week as well as has health care from Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Erin has been working at a grocery store so that she can live closer to home, with her family. She works a 40hour/week job and still cannot save up enough to move out of her family home.
Mallory from Ohio also works a full time job at minimum wage. She lives with her mother and pays rent to her. After her bills are paid she has little money to spend on personal items, such as hair spray and is stuck in this cycle because she cannot even save up enough money to buy herself a vehicle.
Blog #6
There are different types of child care used by working mothers displayed in the book. (Chaudry,34). They are home-based care, family child care, center care and also other types of care. The home based care was a typical resort for many of the mothers. This included kin care and care from the father, such as in Brittany and Bethany’s situation. She used a lot of different types of home-based care, but it typically was what Chaudry refers to as “patch work care”, the type of care used until another option presents itself. This was also a resource for the mother to attempt to save money while the father was out of work, though she did not always save many (for example while Bethany’s uncle provided the child care). Many of her arrangements “were not ideal, however, in terms of these relatives’ commitment to being care providers, the location, or their long-term availability.” (Chaudry,35) This type of care is also typically used for “early care, short-term care, or secondary car”, which is not ideal.
There are many different concerns associated with family care centers as well as with center care. In Brittany and Bethany’s case, Brittany came into conflict while using licensed caregivers. She felt the she could not trust some of the care givers to give proper care to her child. Though the facility may be licensed for state quality care, it may not be at the approval of the most important player, the mother.
Many of the choices made by these women were due to the need of urgent care situations. Weather it happened to be because a loss in the mother’s work availability or loss of income. For example, one mother’s story in “Problems of Working Mothers” explained that although she has a real estate license and has previously worked in a real estate office, she must work as a waitress because she needs the flexibility to care for her sick child. One solution to this was suggested in the video “Childcare” was to extend public schooling from K-12 to include preschoolers.
Other factors also include who is available and for what cost. Many of the mothers ran into personal conflict with care givers which needed instant change which lead to yet another, rushed decision.
Chaudry also explains “supply factors”, or what is actually available to them, plays a role in this decision making process. (Chaudry 41)
According to ARC (Applied Research Center) there is a large increase in the number of caregivers who are unlicensed. This can only be because of the fact that many more people of forced into situations that need this type of work (possibly that they cannot afford the training) as well as because women who cannot afford to have child care from licensed facilities must turn to others.
Typically the mothers have stated that they prefer a child care situation where not only is their child safe, but also that the child is being interacted with and in a learning environment. For example, Chaudry describes how the mothers differentiate between care that is “babysitting”, “nurturing”, “developmental” and “educational”.
In the course video, “Problems of Working Mothers”, a mother describes that although she prefers the child be in an after-school program, but because she cannot afford this, they are what is described as “latch-key” children, or children who must take care of themselves after school. This is a last resort for many mothers and although no one is directly to blame for these types of situations a solution rests on the decisions of state and federal assistance programs.
There are many different concerns associated with family care centers as well as with center care. In Brittany and Bethany’s case, Brittany came into conflict while using licensed caregivers. She felt the she could not trust some of the care givers to give proper care to her child. Though the facility may be licensed for state quality care, it may not be at the approval of the most important player, the mother.
Many of the choices made by these women were due to the need of urgent care situations. Weather it happened to be because a loss in the mother’s work availability or loss of income. For example, one mother’s story in “Problems of Working Mothers” explained that although she has a real estate license and has previously worked in a real estate office, she must work as a waitress because she needs the flexibility to care for her sick child. One solution to this was suggested in the video “Childcare” was to extend public schooling from K-12 to include preschoolers.
Other factors also include who is available and for what cost. Many of the mothers ran into personal conflict with care givers which needed instant change which lead to yet another, rushed decision.
Chaudry also explains “supply factors”, or what is actually available to them, plays a role in this decision making process. (Chaudry 41)
According to ARC (Applied Research Center) there is a large increase in the number of caregivers who are unlicensed. This can only be because of the fact that many more people of forced into situations that need this type of work (possibly that they cannot afford the training) as well as because women who cannot afford to have child care from licensed facilities must turn to others.
Typically the mothers have stated that they prefer a child care situation where not only is their child safe, but also that the child is being interacted with and in a learning environment. For example, Chaudry describes how the mothers differentiate between care that is “babysitting”, “nurturing”, “developmental” and “educational”.
In the course video, “Problems of Working Mothers”, a mother describes that although she prefers the child be in an after-school program, but because she cannot afford this, they are what is described as “latch-key” children, or children who must take care of themselves after school. This is a last resort for many mothers and although no one is directly to blame for these types of situations a solution rests on the decisions of state and federal assistance programs.
Blog #5
Chaudry argues that “we are asking the lest fortunate to strive and work harder, we are deeply discounting our public responsibility for the children born into poor families and disadvantages communities” because he is displeased with the tension between the two competing interpretations of welfare: “The one that promoted social policies designed to improve children’s welfare and the one that denigrated policies that provided assistance to able adults, including non-working parents, who have often been considered the ‘undeserving poor’”. The label of the “undeserving poor” takes a strong toll on all working mothers. It is the idea that women on welfare are not grateful or are not in dire need of public assistance, but instead of a lower, harder to qualify for, amount. In asking working mothers to work harder for their assistance, which they are very much in need of, we are not counting the consequences left to take effect on their children.
He explains this and uses example of her interviewees who have been disadvantaged by this new ideal. These mothers now must take more time out of the home and away from their children to qualify for their public assistance. They also much walk on eggshells as to not make too much money so that they will not disqualify for the assistance as well. As in Annette and Aaron’s story with a new job opportunity she began a larger (but not by much) income. This new income then affected her assistance by lowering the amount of food stamps she was allotted, and by raising the cost of her public housing. (Chaudry, 8) This now makes it harder on her and her children who are thrust into more childcare while she works to make up the difference.
In the video “Living with A Hole in your Pocket” many statements are made exemplifying this “vicious cycle”. It is explained that making a dollar more than the poverty line makes it impossible to get decent, if any assistance. As explained in “Poverty in America” with one out of every 8 people in poverty it is hard to believe that this isn’t a public problem over a personal problem. Prof. Katharine Newman explains in her video on America’s Working Poor that they more people try to get out of poverty, the more they are thrusted into debt. With our countries current credit crisis, again this is shown to be a public problem over a personal
one.
Finally as explains in “Born with A Wooden Spoon”, illiteracy, insufficient job skills, substance abuse and crime have played large roles. Children who are brought up under these conditions have little to no chance of overcoming their communities. It is explained as a cycle where poor children grow up to be poor parents and the cycle is continued. In order for this cycle to be broken, intervention of their lives is needed by outside sources.
He explains this and uses example of her interviewees who have been disadvantaged by this new ideal. These mothers now must take more time out of the home and away from their children to qualify for their public assistance. They also much walk on eggshells as to not make too much money so that they will not disqualify for the assistance as well. As in Annette and Aaron’s story with a new job opportunity she began a larger (but not by much) income. This new income then affected her assistance by lowering the amount of food stamps she was allotted, and by raising the cost of her public housing. (Chaudry, 8) This now makes it harder on her and her children who are thrust into more childcare while she works to make up the difference.
In the video “Living with A Hole in your Pocket” many statements are made exemplifying this “vicious cycle”. It is explained that making a dollar more than the poverty line makes it impossible to get decent, if any assistance. As explained in “Poverty in America” with one out of every 8 people in poverty it is hard to believe that this isn’t a public problem over a personal problem. Prof. Katharine Newman explains in her video on America’s Working Poor that they more people try to get out of poverty, the more they are thrusted into debt. With our countries current credit crisis, again this is shown to be a public problem over a personal
one.
Finally as explains in “Born with A Wooden Spoon”, illiteracy, insufficient job skills, substance abuse and crime have played large roles. Children who are brought up under these conditions have little to no chance of overcoming their communities. It is explained as a cycle where poor children grow up to be poor parents and the cycle is continued. In order for this cycle to be broken, intervention of their lives is needed by outside sources.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)