Childhood Poverty

Child, Youth Issues
Child, Youth Issues > Family Issues
English > Analysis

Childhood Poverty

A multi-genre paper about childhood poverty, using poems and pictures to examine trends and effects of poverty on children's lives, specifically in the United States.

2,374 words () | 15 sources | MLA | 2004 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explores why the number-one military superpower in the world, the United States, lags behind other countries in the area of providing programs to alleviate childhood poverty. The paper compares child poverty levels in other countries to those in the United States and presents the history and statistics of this phenomenon. The paper discusses the trends in childhood poverty levels in America. This paper is written in a multi-genre format, using poetry and illustrations to emphasize the painful topic.

From the Paper:

"The Federal Office of Family Assistance receives reports on spending pertaining to childcare when federal funds are used. The latest figures are from the forth quarter of 2001. These figures show a total expenditure of 12.1 billion dollars spent on assistance to families. A meager 570 million of this was spent on childcare. This is roughly 5% of the budget for family assistance. According to this Office of Family Assistance 20 States did not spend any Federal money on childcare. Minnesota was one of these States. Minnesota did spend some of its own tax money on childcare. The State of Minnesota and Stearns County has a program called MFIP (Minnesota Family Assistance Program). This program has a much-needed sliding fee system for childcare. This program enables adults in families to get back to work. The income level goes up to higher incomes so that there is an incentive to work."