POVERTY

CONSIDER THE IMPACT DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT WELFARE POLICIES HAVE HAD ON POVERTY IN THE UK, IN RELATION TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

CONSIDER THE IMPACT DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT WELFARE POLICIES HAVE HAD ON POVERTY IN THE UK, IN RELATION TO CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Introduction

“Our historic aim will be ours to be the first generation to end child poverty.”

(Tony Blair, Beveridge Lecture, 1999)

Poverty is a basic factor for number of issues and problems faced by children and young people. Children and young people experience health and social conditions. Later, these conditions changed into academic, behavioral and employment problems. In fact, the damaging influence of poverty is discussed with the welfare policies undertaken by the Government. We will examine protective and risk factors correlated with childhood poverty. As such, families with low income are spending a low standard of living. Though, they are scarcely observed in the developing world due to the advanced social infrastructure (welfare, health services and so on). Major policies for income maintenance and income assistance for families and children are reviewed. In the end, program and policy directives are identified that may help promote positive outcomes and improve the service integration for families of children and young people.

Discussion

Poverty

The measurement of poverty is a not defined. According to the Child Poverty Act 2010, poverty is “household income below 60 percent of median income.” The median is an income that a half of households earn less and the other half earns more (Townsend, & Kennedy, 2004). Further, the World Bank Organization described poverty as, "The most commonly used way to measure poverty is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the "poverty line". What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place. Each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values "(BBC news, 2013, p.1).

Poverty and Other Factors

Poverty is inter-related with complex factors like health, early childhood development, social exclusion, obesity, measurement and evidence, urbanization, and gender equality. These social factors are condensed with poverty (World Health Organization, 2008, pp.1-232). Group of children and young people are considered as the poorest group in the England. Additionally, children experience disorder, chaos and isolation and frequent violence acts. Different levels of parents' stress with scarce resources affect negatively on the developmental outcomes of children and young people (Kohen, Leventhal, Dahinten & McIntosh, 2008, pp.156-169). Household and personal factors are determining determinants for health. Poverty is responsible for deficits of health among the children. There are higher chances of chronic illness during childhood. Poor health of children affects their expectancy of life.

Child poverty (in the UK that means living on less than 60% of the normal income) is not an inescapable part of current social orders, or mechanical change, or even a transitory impact of the worldwide ...