Poverty+and+Substance+Abuse

= Substance Abuse Among Families in Poverty = By, Danielle Szewczuk and Lindsay Cosgrave




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Exploring the Relationship between Poverty and Substance Abuse:
====Poverty and substance abuse are two serious social problems that are often assumed to be interrelated. In 2011, there were about forty-six million Americans living below the poverty line ("Poverty and substance," 2008). That is fifteen percent of the population ("Poverty and substance," 2008). Out of that fifteen percent, nine percent of the American population have some kind of substance dependence, most of those people cannot earn a living ("Poverty and substance," 2008). Poverty exclusively is not an economic problem; there are many other issues such as substance abuse which is resulted from poverty. Research suggests that there is a strong association between poverty and problematic drug use. ("Poverty and substance," 2008) ====

====There are many risk factors associated with substance abuse which include "childhood experiences, genes, mental illness and psychological factors; people who are poor also are high risk factors" (Califano, et al., 2005). These risk factors are experienced by people who are not suffering from poverty and who are. Although many people who are poor become entrenched in the lifestyle that often includes "incarceration, exposure to law enforcement, poor health outcomes and homelessness"("Poverty and substance," 2008). The quality of a substance is more important for some people. This is simply not the case regarding people suffering from poverty. A person who is well off can afford to make better choices with regards to their substance addiction ("Poverty and substance," 2008). They can afford alcohol of a better quality and drugs that are more pure, and have access to clean needles ("Poverty and substance," 2008). Those who are poor simply don't have these choices. It’s not to say that only people who suffer from poverty are substance abusers, but they are more prone and have higher health risks to dangerous and toxic substances (Califano, et al., 2005). ====

====Substance abuse does not discriminate amongst social classes but it does have adverse affects among families in poverty). For example, if Donald Trump were to suffer from substance abuse his family would be able to afford to get him the help he needs and they would still live comfortable. That is not the case for families in poverty. Pharaoh and Lafeyette’s father suffered from substance abuse and it impacted their lifestyle greatly. They were unable to get the proper housing because they were only living on government support from LaJoe (Kotlowitz, 1991). Their father was bringing in no income so their family suffered greatly economically. ====

===="Those in the cycle of poverty who also suffer from substance abuse problems have a significantly more difficult time breaking the cycle and removing themselves from this harmful life than those who are not poor"("Poverty and substance," 2008). The children will also have a harder time excelling academically and will struggle economically (Califano, et al., 2005). The children will begin to feel trapped and may start to follow in their parents’ footsteps by engaging in high risk behaviors such as, substance abuse (Califano, et al., 2005). ====



People in poverty encounter many of the same challenges like the rest of the country, but lack the resources to overcome those challenges. Individuals resort to substances abuse due to experiencing some type of setback, such as worsening economic position (Kaestner, 1999). The relationship between poverty and drug use is more complicated. Beyond the lack of money, poverty leads to certain attitudes, behaviors and life conditions (Kaestner, 1999). "To a majority of Americans, illicit drug use and poverty go hand in hand" (Kaestner, 1999). Poverty is concentrated in inner-city neighborhoods that are also characterized by high rates of drug use and drug-dealing activity (Califano, et al., 2005).

The relationship between drug use and poverty is portrayed in the figure below. "Drug use may adversely affect educational achievement, or attainment, and hence lower earnings and increase poverty" (Kaestner, 1999). Drug use is expected to result in a reduction of physical and cognitive abilities. Consequently, drug use is expected to lower productivity, reduce earnings, and result in an increased likelihood of poverty (Kaestner, 1999). The figure also illustrates the important part that ability, preferences, and family background may have in determining both poverty and drug use. This figure shows how poverty and drug use are interrelated and other factors such as education and employment are affected (Kaestner, 1999).

** Increasingly, research confirms the prevalence of substance abuse, depression and domestic violence among low income, welfare individuals. **
While there is research on how substance abuse, domestic violence and depression affect a family and children separately, there is also research on the combination of the impact it has on low income families (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). "Estimates of current substance use among those receiving welfare ranges from 6 percent to 37 percent"(Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004).

What are the causes of poverty, and how does substance abuse play a role in poverty?
====Poverty is often the result of a combination of circumstances. Poverty can be generational, where children and grandchildren are born into it and lack the skills, resources, and education to get out of it. Other people may drop into poverty due to a health issue, bills, loss of job or poor money management (Dannelly). ====

==== Drugs often pay a big part in poverty. People can quickly find themselves in poverty due to a drug addiction. People become dependent on drugs resulting with it controlling their lifes. Drugs causes people to lose their jobs, family, home. These factors take the back seat to doing their drugs. The priorities of substance abusers are all wrong (Dannelly). ====
 *  Impact of Drugs on Poverty **

==== Drugs also become part of someones life who is already in poverty. In most cities, where poverty and substance abuse is most prominent, drugs can easily be obtained on the streets (Dannelly). ====

==== For other people, drugs didn't necessarily contribute to the fact they are living within poverty, but drugs are keeping them in their situation. This is due to the addiction and spending money on the substances (Dannelly). ====

==== The actual amount of people in poverty receiving drug treatment is slim, this is due to the lack of knowledge of treatment options, lack of health insurance and lack of support system. ====

==== One of the biggest obstacles for welfare recipients today are substance abuse problems. Substance abuse often causes persons to lose motivation and responsibility, preventing them from holding a job or performing the duties that a job entails. ====

====Their priorites become skewed, and the realization that they have an actual problem is not noticed. Substance abusers need the proper interventions to deal with their addiction, however treatment requires money and time that they just don't have. In order for individuals to escape poverty, resources must be readily available for them to overcome the barriers of substance abuse. (Dannelly). "Current welfare policies make this task very difficult. First, any individual who has committed a drug felony is permanently ineligible for food stamps; however, individuals who have committed murders or rapes are qualified for food stamps" (Dannelly, p.2).====



====Substance abuse is a problem across the United States. Individuals both rich and poor constantly struggle to overcome drug problems. "The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that Substance Abuse dependence or abuse of any illicit drug or alcohol was found for 11.4% of individuals receiving government assistance" (Dannelly, p. 7) ====

 Another concern regarding drug use among welfare recipients is the prevalence among women, especially women with children. For all women,

 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“4.5% reported using drugs in the past months ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8.5% reported binge drinking ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Among giving birth, 5.5% used drugs, 18.8% drank alcohol during pregnancy. ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5.7% of women with children at home had used drugs in the past month ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7.3% of welfare abused or dependent on alcohol, 3.3% on drugs” (Dannelly, p. 7) ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "The prevalence of drug use among welfare recipients is disturbing, and it is an issue that must be addressed in order to combat the plague of poverty." (Dannelly, p.7) ====

**Contributing Causes of Substance Abuse in Welfare Recipient and Non Welfare Recipients**
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12.5pt;">Several variables and factors have been cited as an explanation for substance abuse. Factors which frequently influence drug habits include age, education level and employment status. "Drugs users tend to be younger, have lower levels of education, and tend to be unemployed, all of which are also characteristic of low-income individuals"(Dannelly, p.8).

** Substance Abuse as a Barrier to Escaping Poverty **
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Substance abuse is a common barrier that people experience when they are trying to escape poverty. This is regardless of the factors which are responsible for causing their substance abuse among low-income individuals. In order to escape poverty, one must have a stable job and income. Acquiring and keeping a steady job is an issue for substance abusers. ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A 1995 study found that between 10 and 30 percent of welfare recipients were limited in

 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">job training ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">job searching ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">job retention ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">due to alcohol or drug problems (LAC,1997)
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another important factor regarding substance abuse and job opportunities is the increased frequency in drug testing as part of the hiring process. This causes many issues for individuals who are looking for a job while still using drugs. (LAC,1997) ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Substance abuse acts as a barrier towards women and children as well. "One of the greatest barriers that women experience is the stigma associated with drug and alcohol use" (Dannelly, p. 9). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Several women feel guilt, shame and low self-esteem as a result from their substance abuse. These emotions lead to depression and isolation (Dannelly). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another barrier that women face is experience with violence. Many women who have alcohol and drug problems experience domestic violence or have been raped or assaulted. "Histories of this nature often make these individuals especially susceptible to relapse identified by certain triggers" (Dannelly, p. 10). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Data collected from the National Household Survey of Drug Abuse (NHSDA) indicates that because substance use is a covert behavior, it's true prevalence among the welfare population is unknown. Most studies have relied on self reports which could be deceptive or inaccurate. "In result, due to differing definitions and data sources, published prevalence estimates of substance use vary widely from 6.6 to 37%" (“Poverty in the”, 2013, p.1). ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other analyses also documented that psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-tramatic-stress disorder are prevalent with substance abuse. (Jayakody, 2004) ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Families who experience domestic violence are not always victims of poverty but studies have found a correlation between the two. Haesler conducted research on how victims of domestic violence cope with their abuse. Haesler defined domestic violence according to the APA Task Force on Violence and the Family as: ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"A pattern of abusive behaviors including a wide range of physical, sexual, and psychological maltreatment used by one person in an intimate relationship against another to gain power unfairly or maintain that person’s misuse of power, control, and authority" (APA, 1996, p. 1 & Haesler, 2013, p. 25). ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Women’s financial instability and the compounding shame associated with poverty and low income, leads to women not seeking services such as medical, psychological, and economic aid” (Haesler, 2013, p. 27). Some families who are victims of domestic violence find themselves unable to find the proper shelter and take to street. Once they become homeless they become more susceptible to drug addiction, prostitution and putting their entire family endanger (Haeseler, 2013). Women and children who experience domestic violence often go untreated. Over 70% of domestic violence victims did not share that information with their TANF caseworkers (Satyanathan & Pollack). Because the women or men are afraid to disclose this information the proper care and support is not for them leaving them to have no choice but to return home or end up homeless. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, domestic violence is a primary cause of homelessness, especially women in poverty (Rosenheck, 2011). Today there are multiple hotlines, shelters and government programs offered to these families but they are often to embarrassed or ashamed to admit they are victims. One study showed how because of this fear of not telling their TANF caseworkers of their situation they will reside on welfare longer (Satyanathan &Pollack). The men and women suffering from domestic violence often have trouble keeping or finding jobs which in return leaves them financially dependent on their abuser or the government. ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This video is an excerpt oh how domestic violence has affected the entire family not only the women being abused. The family was broken apart and the girls began to start fighting because their lives were turned upside down. When the mother finally decided to leave she became very vulnerable because she had no financial security, like her husband. She found herself in poverty the second she left him and had to rely on the government for help. She had to stay at the shelter with her family for awhile before her town house was set up. She lived with other women and families who experienced domestic abuse. ====

media type="youtube" key="7v2LmM_FO-U" width="420" height="315" align="center"



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to the relationship between poverty, substance abuse, and family violence, there is also an association between poverty and depression especially in women. "There is evidence that substance abuse is frequently an effort at self-medication for depression and other forms of mental illness, particularly in poor, oppressed inner-city populations who have little or no access to regular mental health care" (Grant, Jack, Fitzpatrick, & Ernst, 2011). Depression in mothers may be linked to child neglect through affective withdrawal and lack of attention to care giving tasks. Interactions with their young children have found to be negative, critical, hostile, and rejecting (Grant, Jack, Fitzpatrick, & Ernst, 2011). Regarding infants, depressed mothers show more negative effect, they are less responsive and provide less stimulation in face to face interactions (Grant, Jack, Fitzpatrick, & Ernst, 2011). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Research has shown that infants of depressed mothers begin to mirror the depressed affect in the earliest months of life, leading to inhibition in social interaction and exploratory behavior by 12 months of age"(Grant, Jack, Fitzpatrick, & Ernst, 2011). ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Such children are more likely to develop these following behaviors than children of parents who are not suffering from depression:

 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Behavior problems ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anxiety disorders ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Affective disorders ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> o (Grant, Jack, Fitzpatrick, & Ernst, 2011 & Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004).


==== Parenting styles are affected negatively by the parents’ substance abuse behavior (Califano, et al., 2005). Children living within poverty, who experience social isolation from the parent, subjected to a substance abusing adult, and witness parental depression all have negative effects on a child's wellbeing and are associated with child maltreatment (Dore, 1998). "For a parent whose functioning is already impaired by the use of drugs or alcohol, living in such a stressful environment increases the likelihood that he or she will lose control and become abusive, or, conversely, withdraw physically and emotionally from a child" (Dore, 1998). ====



**<span style="color: #ff1c00; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Why Focus on families? **
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Drug and alcohol abuse not only affects the abuser and his/her life, but also the lives of family members. Focusing on families is critical to understanding and preventing the destructive cycle of substance abuse and addiction (Califano, et al., 2005). Alcoholism and drug abuse often are referred to as a family disease (Califano, et al., 2005). This becomes a repetitive cycle from generation to generation. ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Addictions often create interpersonal problems for all family members (Lameman, 2013

 * ====**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conflict with partner **====
 * ====**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Conflict with children **====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Conflict over money:** “For low-income families you struggle economically, making poor financial choices or simply pouring your money into your addiction” (Lameman, 2013 p.1). ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Emotional trauma:** “You may create emotional hardships for your partner and/or your children by yelling, talking down, insulting or manipulating” (Lameman, 2013, p.1). ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Patterns:** “Your life example will influence your partner, your children and other family members. There is a high likelihood that your children will become addicted to drugs or alcohol” (Lameman, 2013, p. 1) ====
 * **Health Risks:** “Drinking while pregnant can cause fetal alcohol syndrome which is damaging to the baby's brain. Smoking in the household can cause health problems for family members from secondhand smoke. Being under the influence of drugs and alcohol will overall impair your judgment and can lead to neglect or harm" (Lameman,2013, p.2).

media type="youtube" key="_gT2Yx2DjUw" width="504" height="377" align="center"

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There are several major family factors that influence the extent to which a child is affected. This includes the age of the child, extent/severity of involvement, and the parents’ ability to fulfill the parental roles (Califano, et al., 2005). Substance abusers households tend to be high in conflict, and more likely to include yelling, arguments and poor communication patterns (Califano, et al., 2005). These homes are unstable and a difficult place for a family to live and a child to grow up. Substance abusing parents tend to engage in fewer family activities and relinquish their parental roles, leaving the child with more responsibilities and roles that are inappropriate for their age (Califano, et al., 2005). Again, all of these factors are associated with a substance abuse household, not only ones in poverty. The fact that these families are low-income makes matters much worse. ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Poverty has a significant impact on entire families, which can lead to increased risk factors for infants and children, such as (Califano, et al., 2005). ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">increased rates of parental depression associated with financial stress ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">heightened risk for maltreatment ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">increased exposure to alcohol and substance abuse. ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Califano, et al., 2005) ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> “Lower income infants and toddlers are at greater risk than middle‐ or high‐income infants and toddlers for a variety of poorer outcomes and vulnerabilities”, such as (Califano, et al., 2005): ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">later school failure ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">learning disabilities ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">behavior problems ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">mental retardation ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">developmental delay ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">health impairments ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Califano, et al., 2005) ====



====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> CalWORKs is a welfare program that gives cash aid and services to eligible needy California families ("California work opportunity," 2007). The program serves all 58 counties in the state and is operated locally by county welfare departments ("California work opportunity," 2007) ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The CalWORKS project, released a report on TANF families suffering from alcohol or other drugs stating that "statistically significant association between a mother’s substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence problems and parent frustration, as well as lack of social support" (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "The CalWORKS findings also indicate that children (aged 6 and under) in families who are identified as having all three problems (Substance abuse, Depression and Domestic Violence) are at 2 to 5 times greater risk” (Chandler, et al., 2003, p. 5) for ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Homelessness ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use of food banks ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lack of needed medical care ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unreliable or unsafe child care ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Placement in foster care by child welfare services” ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p. 5). ====





Treatment and Help programs
==== One of the most significant risk factors for people who suffer the effects of poverty and substance abuse is the access to appropriate health services. For an individual with adequate money or heath insurance this is not an issue, but for those in poverty they do not have the resources available to them for treatments and detoxifications. ==== ==== For families who have suffered from substance abuse, depression, or domestic violence and are in poverty are able to apply for or seek help in different family care programs. These care programs are funded by the federal government, state and local businesses. There are over 50 programs set up for families, mostly mothers and children, to establish a safe, secure family environment. The program helps low income substance abuse families by giving adequate treatment and counseling to the families. The program offers a place for the families to stay and also out of home care to help them get back on their feet again financially and also giving them the mental support. ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The Early Head Start program was designed as a two-generation program to promote child development from birth to age 3, strengthen families, and support service delivery to low-income families” (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p.6). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Findings from random assignment concluded improvements in parent-child interactions and in overall parenting, these include (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004: ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Early Head Start also seemed to have an impact on the behavior of the children whose parent experienced depression, substance abuse and domestic violence (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). These children became more engaged in play with their parents and displayed less negativity toward their parents (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). ====



**Programs That Provide Work Support** ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Studies have shown that work support programs increase employment and income have positive effects on the parents and child's well-being (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). "However, work supports alone are not sufficient to help families overcome mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence problems" (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p. 7). What are needed are interventions that provide treatment services with addition to dealing with barriers to employment (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two current interventions help vulnerable families obtain stable employment with opportunities for advancement the:

 * 1) ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Employment Retention and Advancement Project (ERA) ====
 * 2) ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enhanced Services for the Hard-To-Employ Project. ====
 * 3) ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The Employment Retention and Advancement evaluation examines what promotes both stable employment and career progression for welfare recipients and other low-income workers"(Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p.7). So far there are 15 ERA projects operating. Four of these target vulnerable populations consisting of those with mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence problems that have had difficulty finding or holding jobs (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004). ====

**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The four target sites are: **
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">•New York: “The Personal Roads for Individual Development and Employment Program (PRIDE)—targets those with physical or mental health problems” (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p. 7). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">•New York: “The Substance Abuse Case Management Program—targets those with sub- stance abuse problems who may also experience domestic violence, mental health, and child welfare problems” (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p.7). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">•Oregon: “The Careers Builders Program—targets welfare cyclers. Individuals will receive referrals for mental health and substance abuse services if necessary” (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p. 7). ====

====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">•South Carolina: “The Moving Up Program—targets those that have exited welfare but re- main below 250 percent of the poverty level. A collection of services will be offered including mental health and substance abuse treatment” (Lawrence, Chau, & Lennon, 2004, p. 7). ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Statics show information on how many people in poverty needed to seek treatment between 2006- 2008 (Dannelly):
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This statistic does not represent the entire population because it does not include children. Another thing that one must take into consideration is out of 3.7 million people in need of treatment only 17.9% may have agreed or wanted the treatment. This does not mean that the others were refused treatment but it also does not mean that everyone was offered the treatment (Dannelly). ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Out of 3.7 million people in need of treatment only 17.9% actually received treatment. This ranged from children as young as 12 to adults as old as 80 (Dannelly). ====

** Families in Poverty Outreach Program **

After researching how the effects domestic violence, substance abuse, and depression can all affect families in poverty we came up with a new program to help support these families. The children who are victims of abuse are at a higher risk of engaging in substance abuse and suffer from depression (Heasler, 2013). Research suggests that when parents become depressed it in return affects the children. The program will give the families financial stability, a place to stay, therapy, and medication to help with their depression. The children will also be given the opportunity to go to school and have a one on one tutor to make sure their brain development is congruent with their age. According //Early Childhood Poverty// by Greg J. Duncan and Katherine Magnuson,

Early childhood is a particularly sensitive period in which economic deprivation may compromise children’s life achievements and employment opportunities. Research continues to confirm a remarkable sensitivity (and growing number) of developing brain structures and functions that are related to growing up in an impoverished home (2011, p. 26).

Children in poverty suffer developmentally because of their economic status and also from their parents’ state of mind. In //There are No Children Here// by Alex Kotlowitz Pharoah tries to excel in school but he can not because he is not developmentally meeting his grade level requirements. This is not uncommon for children in poverty to struggle with; some children are more than year off their grade level (Lareau, 2012). During Lareau’s study she found that children in the Lower Richmond School which was mostly children of poverty test scores were not matching the child’s grade level due to limited resources and lack of education (Lareau, 2012). The Families in Poverty Outreach Program will offer children in poverty the opportunity to have the same education development level as everyone else. They will not be punished academically because their parents are poor. The children will also have a safe environment to live in rather than the streets. Research has shown how families in poverty suffer from a sense of instability. They never have a stable home, food, money, or proper health care. One day they will be living in a comfortable home, the next a hotel, motel, trailer park, or even the streets. Some are constantly moving from one shelter to the next this instability affects the child’s education. The child is unable to enroll in school because they are constantly moving and never are in one place long enough. This program will benefit the children by providing them with not only a stable home but also environment where they can attend a school. The program will guarantee that each child will be given the opportunity to attend a school close enough to their current location and if they are to relocate the school will provide the proper transportation so the child does not have to transfer to another school. When a child moves they often fall behind in school or stop attending, this will eliminate that factor. In //Grieving for a lost home, in Rachel and her Children//, by Jonathan Kozol, discussed how Annie’s son Doby falls victim to lack of education due to poverty. Kozol says, “One of the workers in the crisis center calls him ‘an owl- bright and studious,’ he says. But he’s a year behind his proper grade because he lost so many months during the time in which the family had been shunted from one shelter to another” (Kozol, 1988, p. 41). Doby is not the only child who missed out on school; there are children who are currently not enrolled in school because they do not have a stable home. The child will be able to remain in the same school and then if they wish to transfer schools closer to their new location they can after the following year.

References

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// 2. California work opportunity and responsiblity to kids (calworks) //. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.cdss.ca.gov/calworks/

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