Work, family, and children are primary concerns for every policymaker, employer, and family member. Everyone has parents, and workers without nuclear families have friends and neighbors who function as family and will, at some time, need others to care for them. We need sound policies that are consistent with our values and the bottom line. Despite numerous social changes in how we live and work, public policies have not caught up with the contemporary realities of working families.
Be Aware of the Complex Linkages Among Work, Education, Wages, and Poverty
Poverty continues to be a high-risk factor for child development, and the prevalence of children in poverty is a major and growing concern in the United States. Research shows both short- and long-term negative consequences that include increased criminal behavior and the intergenerational transmission of poverty. By the time they reach adolescence, children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience lower academic achievement and higher rates of dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy and childbearing, delinquent behavior, poverty, and welfare dependency. The longer children live in poverty, the poorer their cognitive development, and the worse their social and emotional well-being are likely to be. Programs that keep families with children above poverty are fiscally conservative because the consequences of poverty have financial costs to society--welfare dependence, criminal behavior, jail time, and other direct expenses. Children in poor families lag behind on important measures of well-being, including repeating a grade, being suspended or expelled from school, having poorer health, and having less positive attitudes toward their community (Heymann, 2000). It is likely that at least some of the health disparities between the poor and the middle class are related to the stresses of poverty. Several researchers have suggested that changes in the way we work would be an effective way to eliminate social inequalities in the incidence of coronary heart disease (Marmot, Ryff, Bumpass, & Shipley, 1997). This is a strong statement with important public policy implications.
Support Job and Parent Training
Education and training for mothers on welfare is a good investment. Children with mothers who are consistently on and off of welfare benefit more than other children when their mothers participate in education and job training programs. More than 60% of low-income children who live with their mothers and whose fathers live outside the home do not receive child support. The main reason why noncustodial fathers fail to pay child support is that they have low incomes themselves, limiting their ability to pay. Work-oriented programs designed to ensure that fathers are doing what they can to support their children financially are beneficial. Job training and early childhood education classes for young men should be a top priority for fathers who are not paying child support because they are unemployed or earning very low wages. Programs that assist low-income parents to obtain quality jobs are a good investment and could include assistance with transportation, resume writing, job searches, the purchase of suitable clothing, and job retention services.
Education in the responsibilities of parenting should also be required of those parents for whom these classes would be beneficial. When fathers are able to pay child support and participate in parenting classes, they will become more involved in their children's lives. Media campaigns that reinforce the message that fathers are important can help to encourage father involvement.
Consider State and Other Government Programs that Provide Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides job security for employees working in companies with 50 or more employees who need to take up to 12 weeks of leave to care for an ill family member or a newborn or newly adopted child. But the low-income employees cannot afford to take unpaid leave, and they are most likely to have ill family members. Ill family members miss medical appointments, often resulting in increased health care costs, prolonged illness, and ultimately the loss of employment for the caregiver (with unemployment costs and possible welfare costs) and untold stress to an already overstressed family. Seriously ill or injured children recover more quickly and leave the hospital more quickly when parents are permitted to care for them (George & Hancock, 1993; Taylor & O'Connor, 1989). Long-term costs of health care and psychological costs to families are likely to be reduced with paid family and medical leave.
George, Alan and Hancock, Janice. Reducing pediatric burn pain with parent participation. Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation. 1993; 14(1):104-107.Issue: Family Leave. When parents participate in the healing process of children with burns, it improves parents' coping strategies, a better understanding of the healing process, and parents reported that their children had less pain during invasive procedures.
Taylor, M. R. H. and O'Connor, P. Resident parents and shorter hospital stay. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 1989; 64:274-276. Issue: Family Leave. The hospital stay of children with various medical conditions (who are expected to have a short stay no more than 14 days) is shorter when there is a resident parent staying at the hospital; Children of higher income families (the only group in study in which all had medical insurance) were more likely to have a resident parent;
Data collected by the Department of Labor show that caretakers in working families often lose their jobs when another family member becomes seriously ill, a situation that could be prevented if paid or partially paid leave were available. Paid family leave programs exist in Europe and South America and can be funded through a variety of methods, including employee contributions to disability insurance funds. There are fiscally sound ways to keep working families together and healthy. The California Paid Family Leave Insurance Program is an employee-funded program that provides up to 6 weeks' leave at up to 55% pay at little cost to employers. Employees should consider paid family leave programs, which can keep families off assistance programs and keep sick family members out of hospitals.
Employment Development Department. About the Paid Leave Insurance Program. Web site: URL http://www.edd.cahwnet.gov/direp/pflind.asp
Explore Options that Provide or Supplement Health Insurance for the Working Poor to Eliminate Health Disparities
Uninsured Americans receive about half the medical care of those with health insurance, and as a result, they tend to be sicker and die sooner. Only half of uninsured children visited a physician during 2001, compared with three fourths of insured children. Lack of regular care can result in more expensive care for preventable or treatable conditions and disruptions in learning and development. When even one family member is uninsured, the entire family is at risk for the financial consequences of a catastrophic illness or injury. One reason for these health disparities is that health insurance is tied to employment, and low-wage earners disproportionately do not get insurance benefits at work. Public policies that provide or supplement health insurance or address the relationship between health insurance and employment would help reduce health disparities in the United States.
Make Small Business Loans Available to Family Businesses
Family businesses make up from 75% to 90% of the business enterprises in the United States (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003). Many of these businesses are started by new immigrants or by widowed or divorced women who, because of their lack of the types of job skills, experience, or language proficiency in demand by U.S. employers, would otherwise have difficulty finding an employer who will hire them. Despite their poor fit with the job market, many people have skills that can be used in a small business venture, such as a babysitting service, retail clothing shop, a food store, or a restaurant. Unfortunately, they often have difficulty raising the necessary startup capital from friends and relatives. Small business loans and advice are needed for this significant segment of the population.
Next: Recommendations for Schools & Communities
^ Back to top
