Children of Incarcerated Parents
Children of Incarcerated Parents
Children of Incarcerated Parents
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prevalence <strong>of</strong> chronic illness, lead poisoning and other environmental toxins, and<br />
accidental injury or death. Many poor children, especially infants, live in households that<br />
are "food insecure". Low access to proper and sufficient nutrition can lead to both<br />
impaired development and, perversely, obesity and a number <strong>of</strong> other weight-related<br />
illnesses such as type-2 diabetes. Some findings indicate that poor children, particularly<br />
Mexican-American children, are especially prone to low stature and higher rates <strong>of</strong> overweight<br />
and obesity. Low birth-weight and malnutrition during childhood have been linked<br />
to low IQ, a higher prevalence <strong>of</strong> learning disabilities, and other social behavioral<br />
problems.<br />
With regard to risking behaviors like youth sexual activity, smoking, and drug/alcohol<br />
use, there is some disagreement about the negative effects <strong>of</strong> juvenile impoverishment.<br />
One 1998 study found that "low income was not significant in increasing youth sexual<br />
activity and actually decreased the likelihood <strong>of</strong> youth drug and/or alcohol problems" but<br />
that spending time with fathers and parental oversight were correlated with reductions in<br />
both types <strong>of</strong> risk behaviors. Other studies indicate that poor youth are at a much higher<br />
risk for teen childbrearing, less positive peer relationships, and lower self-esteem.<br />
Childhood poverty also has long term economic consequences. Research finds that<br />
children who experienced persistent poverty were far more likely to be poor adults than<br />
their non-poor peers. This childhood effect is not constant, however. Studies find that<br />
33% <strong>of</strong> Black children who were poor during childhood remained so at ages 25–27, as<br />
compared with just 7% <strong>of</strong> White children.<br />
Anti-Poverty Programs for <strong>Children</strong><br />
Research shows that there are some factors – both systematic programs and large<br />
cultural shifts – that may slow or ameliorate the juvenilization and feminization <strong>of</strong><br />
poverty. Martha Ozawa finds that children benefit far more from means-tested, noncash<br />
transfers such as Medicaid, food stamps, housing/rent subsidies, and free or<br />
reduced-price lunch. <strong>Children</strong> also benefit to a certain degree from means-testing cash<br />
transfers like Aid to Families with Dependent <strong>Children</strong> (AFDC), Supplemental Security<br />
Income (SSI), other public assistance payments, and certain veteran's benefits that may<br />
"trickle down" to the child from their parent or guardian.<br />
One major factor, however, in the juvenilization <strong>of</strong> poverty has been the shift in the type<br />
<strong>of</strong> benefits regularly available to the poor in the US. Since the mid-1970s the federal<br />
government has been increasingly shifting funding from public assistance programs to<br />
those that can be classified as "social assurance". Danziger and Stern write that "Most<br />
<strong>of</strong> the increased Federal social spending over the past 25 year [in 1990] is accounted<br />
for by the expansion and indexation <strong>of</strong> social security benefits and the introduction and<br />
expansion <strong>of</strong> Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Security Income program, all<br />
<strong>of</strong> which provide benefits disproportionally to the elderly".<br />
Conversely, some factors may actually be working to stem the tide specifically <strong>of</strong><br />
feminized poverty. Increased female labor force participation with more commiserate<br />
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