Essay Example: American Social Policy and Child Welfare

Poverty defines the lack of access to food, healthcare, education, influence over the environment, knowledge along with other things that distinguish actual living and mere survival. There are two measures of poverty; absolute poverty, and relative poverty (Segal, 2016). In absolute poverty, a person completely lacks the basic needs independent of geographical location or era. Relative poverty implies that a person living in a given country does not enjoy a minimum living standard. Poverty leads to diseases, dependency, and violence. Apathy, premature death, poor leadership and governance, underemployment, lack of skills and capital also result from poverty. Antipoverty programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplementary Security Income for the poor aged from 65 years and above, Earned Income Tax Credit and Minimum Wage program.

A strong economy is essential for the success of the welfare reforms. I completely support that primary social welfare programs like unemployment insurance, income tax credit, and minimum wage relate to economic conditions. The numerous social welfare programs and minimum wage come about to make the levels of economic inequality minimal at least. These measures aim at eradicating poverty and secure a decent living standard of the people. The social welfare programs like income tax credit lead to economic stabilization, intergenerational equality, and market efficiency (Segal, 2016). A rise in the minimum wage increases the family earnings thus enabling them to access better medical care, food, and other necessities. Various social welfare programs provide financial support to low-income families in periods of rising economic needs.

Child abuse occurs in families with a combination of the risk factors. Poverty, lack of education and severe marital problems lead to child abuse. Violence in the family, unemployment, inadequate housing, and lack of support from an extended family cause child abuse (Crosson-Tower, 2017). In other instances, the abuser could be for depression, a drug user or mentally ill. Parent or persons abused in their childhood are more likely to abuse children, and as well lack of skills and knowledge for bringing up children and racism are factors for child abuse. Knowledge of the causes of child abuse helps the human service professional to assist the abuser to understand the benefit of the intervention program and deal with angry abusers to protect victims from further abuse.

Family preservation helps keep a family together without placing children in substitute care. Children can remain in their homes when the economic status of the household is safe, have a supportive family, and in a threatened political stability. Children in their attachment periods need home-based intervention. Children who are most likely to experience more abuse, whose parents are inferior and abusive and non-supportive family members need an outside home placement. Family preservation has least emotional and developmental problems and looks at intervention before outside home placement (Crosson-Tower, 2017). However, it victimizes the child, and some die in the process. In my opinion, family preservation is the best intervention because children form an attachment with parents and every person gets a chance to stop child abuse.

References

Crosson-Tower, C. (2017). Exploring child welfare: A practice perspective. Pearson.

Segal, E. A. (2016). Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs. (4th Ed). Cengage Learning.