Frameworks for Analysis and Practice Essay

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Jan 9, 2024

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Frameworks for Analysis and Practice Zoë Mansour Warmoth College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University SWK 520: Social Welfare Policies and Services Dr. Baxter-Dunn November 22, 2023

Frameworks for Analysis and Practice Child Poverty Child poverty is a persistent problem in the United States (U.S.). The issue is complex, with many causes and dire effects. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official poverty rate remained at 11.5% in 2020, with no significant change from 2021 (Shrider & Creamer, 2023) . Of the 37.9 million Americans living in poverty, 11 million are children (The Children's Defense Fund, 2023; Shrider & Creamer, 2023) . Food insecurity, inadequate access to healthcare, insufficient education, poor nutrition, and poor living conditions are key drivers of poverty and can lead to numerous risk factors for children (Hutchison, 2019) . Children living in poverty may be developmentally delayed in language and cognition and develop significant health problems throughout their life (Hutchison, 2019) . These children are also exposed to violence, crime and abuse at greater levels than others in their cohort (Duncan, 2021; Hutchison, 2019) . While federal assistance programs, such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Head Start Programs and housing voucher programs, already exist to assist needy families, there is much more that can be done (USAGov, n.d.) . A recent study commissioned by Congress during the 2015 session found that expanding the EITC, restructuring the CDCTC, Increasing the minimum wage, expanding SNAP benefits and housing voucher program, as well as expansions to other federal benefit programs could reduce childhood poverty by half within ten years (Duncan, 2021) . Notably, their research also includes ending eligibility restrictions for immigrants that have been in place since 1996 that cause undue burden on families that need assistance (Duncan, 2021) . These proposed changes in a total of seven policy and program proposals, at an annual cost of nearly $217 billion dollars,

would result in a 50% decrease of the number of children living in poverty in the U.S. (Duncan, 2021) . Bronfenbrenner’s Framework Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-Social-Ecological Model, or Ecological Systems Theory, states that developmental processes and biological processes interact to influence human growth and development (Ecological Systems Theory, 2016) . The complex interplay of the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, chrono-system, and macrosystem can be observed holistically in human behavior (Ecological Systems Theory, 2016) . At the microsystem, or individual, level, family environment and access to healthcare, education, and nutritious food can be key factors in determining positive or negative outcomes for children (Hutchison, 2019) . Expanding access to Head Start and Early Head Start programs, as well as SNAP and Medicaid can be protective factors in mitigating risk (Duncan, 2021) . At the mesosystem level, community resources and social services are key factors, while after-school programs and other community-based initiatives can mitigate risk (Eamon, 2001) . At the exosystem level, economic policies and opportunities for employment can have a direct impact (Eamon, 2001) . Expanding access to employment and government assistance programs can be effective preventative measures (Duncan, 2021) . At the chronosystems level, events over the life course cycle of an individual, such as divorce, abuse or historical events can directly influence an individual’s development (Eamon, 2001) t However, appropriate interventions could include therapy, strengthening social support and financial support (Eamon, 2001) . At the macrosystem level, resources and opportunities are critical factors (Fusarelli, 2015) . Mitigating factors could include increasing access to employment, housing and job training (Duncan, 2021) . In each of these systems, policy and programs are critical to increasing the likelihood of success for children living in poverty.

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