Belk

1
Brantley Belk
Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
12 April 2016
Defensive Paper Revised
Children in America are inevitably the future of the country, but sadly they are
also the most susceptible group of American citizens to poverty. Currently there are 14
million children living in relative poverty, which is a person lacking the minimum
income that is needed to live an average lifestyle. Not only are there children living in
relative poverty there are 6.2 million children live in extreme poverty, which is the severe
deprivation of basic human needs (Wright 4). When measuring black, Hispanic and
Caucasian child poverty it is important to acknowledge that black and Hispanic children
are disproportionately poor in terms of extreme poverty.
Statistically it is proven that poverty impacts children in a severe way because of
food insecurity, homes are often crowded and children suffer from many emotional
problems. Children in poverty frequently lack adequate health insurance, causing the
children to acquire health complications that could potentially harm them because of their
young age (Wood 12). The government provides assistance to impoverished families
with various food assistance programs, but independent organizations like The Childrens
Defense Fund aid to fill in the gaps where the government assistance does not cover
(Wogan 2). Poverty among children will begin to decrease rapidly if the government
assistant programs and the independent organizations work together more efficiently.

Belk 2
The impacts of child poverty are shown by countless studies, book, and reports. A
strong correlation is between child poverty and a childs health, achievement and
behavior (Duncan 5). Duncan states in the scholarly article Family Poverty, Welfare
Reform, and Child Development that,
In terms of physical health, the risk for poor relative to non poor children is
1.7 time as high for a low birth weight, 3.5 times as high for lead poisoning, 1.7
times as high for child mortality, and 2.0 times as high for a short stay hospital
episode. (Duncan 6)
Impoverished children are at a very noticeable disadvantage with things such as
healthcare and stable guardians. Typically many American children do not realize how
fortunate they are just to have insurance and stable homes. The quality of a childs home
environment is significant. Interactions between mother and child and the condition of a
home are areas that are required for a child to flourish and be comfortable (Duncan 13).
Children that are in poverty suffer from these basic necessities. Children end up in this
predicament because they are dependent upon others, and that is a disadvantage because a
child cannot alter family situations.
I developed an informative brochure to show viewers a glimpse inside the lives of
children in poverty from different areas of the United States. The brochure is modeled
after Humans of New York which is a viral blog that began in New York City. The
blog spotlights a person in NYC in his or her environment then tells a story about this
person. I wanted to utilize the same concept with my brochure to put a spotlight on
impoverished children. The children all have different stories however they are all
struggling from the same thing, which is poverty. Each child shown on my brochure is

Belk 3
from a different part of America so I named it Humans of America. All of the children
featured in the brochure are different ages and ethnicities and have different stories to
tell. Also, the inside of the brochure shows the different ways that people can become
involved to diminish childhood poverty. The brochure will be placed in various locations
such as churches, hospitals and colleges. An older audience (13+) may be required to
conceptualize and understand the full meaning of the brochure, but it is suitable for
almost anyone.
Children in relative and absolute poverty are a topic that is talked about heavily in
the government and many people think that they cannot a lot to rectify this issue. The
government is working towards ending childhood poverty with a progressive income tax
that helps to fund programs to assist impoverished families and individuals (Infoplease
3). Food stamps are among one of the best assistance programs to those who need it
because it helps the impoverished to provide food to their families. Most recently, the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was created to fight hunger, help maintain
ailing neighborhoods and tax breaks to working families. These changes will help to
provide a larger food credit for families with three or more children (Poverty 6).
While the government is helping to lower the amount of children that are
impoverished it is not feasible for it to be done by the government alone. Independent
non-profit organization like the Childrens Defense Fund helps to end child poverty.
The Childrens Defense fund has just launched a groundbreaking report called Ending
Child Poverty Now stating it will be able to reduce overall child poverty by about 60
percent. This program will invest more in programs such as: food stamps, housing

Belk 4
subsidies, subsidized jobs and the Child Tax Credit (End Child Poverty 2). In the Ending
Poverty Now initiative it states,
By investing 2 percent of the federal budget into existing programs and policies
that increase employment, make work pay, and ensure childrens basic needs are
met, the nation could reduce child poverty by 60 percent and lift 6.6 million
children out of poverty. (End Child Poverty 5)
Utilizing this initiative and the government assistance programs cohesively to help those
in poverty will boost the children that are currently impoverished and improve their
overall living situation and satisfaction.
I truly believe that there is a feasible solution to fixing poverty and that is the
government programs and non-profit organizations, such as Ending Child Poverty Now,
working seamlessly together to continue the fight to end childhood poverty. Children
should be the first priority when poverty is the issue because they are the most vulnerable
to it and they need the help of others to survive and become successful. Every individual
no matter what gender or race should have an equal opportunity to succeed in America
and even though that may not currently be the case we as American people should strive
for the termination of childhood poverty.

Belk 5
Works Cited (New)
Connell, R. "Poverty and Education." Harvard Educational Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 04
Apr. 2016.
<http://www.hepgjournals.org/doi/abs/10.17763/haer.64.2.m14947g30k1x5781>.
Duncan, Greg, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. "The Psychological Effects of Poverty on
Children." PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Duncan, Greg J., and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. "Family Poverty, Welfare Reform, and Child
Development." Child Development 71.1 (2000): 188-96. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
"Ending Child Poverty." Ending Child Poverty. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/endingchildpoverty/>.
"Poverty." The White House. The White House, 07 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/poverty>.
Wogan, J.B. "Are Government Efforts to Help Poor People Manage Money Working?"
Are Government Efforts to Help Poor People Manage Money Working? N.p., 6
Apr. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2016. <http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov
financial-counseling-poor-effectiveness.html>.
Wood, David. "Effect of Child and Family Poverty on Child Health in the United States."
Effect of Child and Family Poverty on Child Health in the United States. N.p.,
Sept. 2003. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/Supplement_3/707>.
Wright, Vanessa R., Michelle Chau, and Yumiko Aratani. "Also of Interest." NCCP.
N.p., Jan. 2010. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_912.html>.

Belk 6
Works Cited (Old)
Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.infoplease.com/cig/economics/government-role.html>.