Norfolk State University

The Poor

Submitted by: Natasha Powell

November 20, 2013

Social Work 200-90-131

Mr. Richard St. Pierre, Professor

I believe a group within society that a Social Worker could work would be the
poor. The United States determines the poverty rate by using poverty thresholds
that are issued each year by the Census Bureau ("Poverty in the," 2010). The
threshold shows the yearly amount of cash income minimally required to support
various family sizes. A family is considered poor if their pre-tax money income is
below the poverty threshold ("Poverty in the," 2010). The money income does not
account non cash benefits such as public housing, Medicaid, employer provided
health insurance, and food stamps. According to the National Poverty Center in
2010 15.1 percent of people were living in poverty. Children make up a
disproportionate amount of the poor with there being 24 percent of children making
up the total population but there are 36 percent making up the poor population
("Poverty in the," 2010). In 2010, 16.4 million children or 22 percent were poor
("Poverty in the," 2010).
The poor can include one-parent families, children, older adults, large families,
people of color, the uneducated, and unemployed (Zastrow, 2010). Majority of oneparent families are headed by a female and 31% of those headed by a female live in
poverty. The single mothers who are also members of a minority group are
subjected to double discrimination in the labor market due to race and their gender
(Zastrow, 2010). A woman who works full time is paid only about 77% of what a
man who works full time is paid. Single mothers have issues with transportation, the
high cost of daycare, and inadequate training which causes them to be unable to
work. It is estimated that about 3 of 10 children in the United States are living in a
one parent home and single parent homes make up more than 20% of all families
(Zastrow, 2010). According to Zastrow, 26% of children under the age of 18 are
living in poverty. Considerably more than half live in families where the father is not

present. The next group is older adults. Some older adults have to depend on Social
Security pensions or public assistance to meet their basic needs. Large families are
also more likely to be poor due to the fact that more income is needed as the family
size increases (Zastrow, 2010). There are around 48 percent of Whites live below
the poverty line however African Americans are three times more likely to live in
poverty than Whites. Someone who has less education is also more likely to live in
poverty however a high school diploma does not guarantee higher wages. Lastly
being unemployed is associated with poverty, however being employed does not
guarantee avoidance of poverty, 1.5 million heads of families work full time but
their income is below the poverty line (Zastrow, 2010).
Those that live below the poverty line may need assistance to meet the basic
needs of everyday living. The assistance is needed as they do not make enough
money to have adequate shelter, food, health insurance, and childcare services.
Services that are available to them are Medicaid, Food stamps, Housing Assistance,
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and child care assistance. Medicaid
is a program that provides hospital and medical care to eligible individual (Zastrow,
2010). Medicaid is a joint federal/state program and the laws governing eligibility
and benefits vary in different geographic areas (Zastrow, 2010). Medicaid and the
Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage to more than
43 million children. The federal government sets minimum guidelines for Medicaid
eligibility but states can decide not to expand coverage beyond the minimum
threshold ("Medicaid by population," ). Medicaid also provides coverage to 11
million non-elderly low income parents, other caretaker relatives, pregnant women,
and other non-disabled adults ("Medicaid by population," ). Eligibility levels for
parents/caretakers vary across the country and there is currently no federal

requirement for states to provide coverage to non-pregnant adults without

dependent children ("Medicaid by population," ). An estimated 50 million people in
the United States do not have enough food to eat (Zastrow, 2010). The food stamp
program is designed to cut out hunger and to improve the diets of low-income
households by supplementing their food purchasing ability (Zastrow, 2010). The
current food stamp program is called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program). SNAP offers nutritional assistance to millions of eligible, low-income
individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities
("Supplemental nutrition assistance," ). SNAP is the largest program in the domestic
hunger safety net. This service works with state agencies, nutrition educators, and
neighborhood and faith based organizations to make sure those who are eligible are
aware of the benefit and how to apply ("Supplemental nutrition assistance," ).
Housing assistance is similar to food stamps and Medicaid. This assistance is
provided in the form of public housing and is usually large housing projects that are
owned and operated by the government (Zastrow, 2010). Tenants who live in
housing projects have lower subsidized rent. The public housing program is federally
funded income based program that provides rental assistance to qualified
individuals ("Suffolk redevelopment and," ). Public Housing is designed to provide a
decent, safe, and affordable housing. Another program known as the Housing
Choice Voucher is a federally funded program and allows participants to find their
own housing ("Suffolk redevelopment and," ). The rent or mortgage payment is
reduced with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) making up
the difference (Zastrow, 2010). Another program provided is Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF). The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program
provides grant funds to States to assist families in any manner that is reasonably

needed to accomplish the purpose of the program ("Temporary assistance for," ).

The purpose of the program is to assist needy families to care for their children in
their own homes; reduce dependency of needy parents by promoting job
preparation, work, and marriage; preventing out of wedlock pregnancies; and
encouraging the formation and maintenance of two parent families ("Temporary
assistance for," ). In order to qualify for this program the individual must be either
pregnant or responsible for a child under 19 years old ("Temporary assistance
for," ). The individual must also be US citizen or legal alien, have low or very low
income, and be under-employed, unemployed or about to be unemployed. Each
state decides the benefits it will provide and they must also establish the eligibility
requirements that must be met ("Temporary assistance for," ). Lastly, the child day
care program provides funding to enhance the quality, affordability and supply of
child care available to low income families ("Day care services," ). Looking at the
child care program offered in Suffolk, the program consists of Fee Child Care,
Transitional Child Care, Non-VIEW (TANF), and VIEW. The Fee child care is a program
for parents that are working and/or attending school. Child care will be authorized
for the hours that the parent is working or attending school ("Day care services," ).
The Transitional child care program is for parents who are working and are only
authorized for hours that you are working ("Day care services," ). Non-VIEW (TANF)
is for parents who are working or attending school and receiving TANF. Child care is
only authorized for the hours that you are attending the approved activity ("Day
care services," ). The VIEW program is only for parents who are participating in
VIEW approved activities and are receiving TANF assistance ("Day care services," ).
I believe service gaps exist in transportation and job placement. Angel
Canche is an individual who participates in a Catholic Charities work program and

after being unemployed for 7 months finally finds work as a janitor (Jourdan, 2012).
According to Canche access to public transportation is important and since many of
them do not have anything, getting a bus pass is difficult (Jourdan, 2012). Also
finding a job that pays enough to transition someone from TANF to being
independent can be difficult.

Bibliography

Zastrow, C. (2010). Introduction to social work and social welfare. (11th ed., pp.
124-134). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Poverty in the united states. (2010). Retrieved from

http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/
Medicaid by population. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.medicaid.gov/MedicaidCHIP-Program-Information/By-Population/By-Population.html
Supplemental nutrition assistance program. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap
Suffolk redevelopment and housing authority. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.suffolkrha.org/programs.php
Temporary assistance for needy families. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/613
Day care services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.suffolkva.us/ss/day-careservices/