Family Poverty In Diverse Contexts Summary

“What if I die before my child dies? I only wish my child would… die earlier or right after me.”
While reading Chapter Eight in the book “Family Poverty in Diverse Contexts,” by Broussard and Joseph, I recalled this phrase from my own memory, about the realistic wish of a mother who was raising a disabled child. From her quote above, I made assumptions about how much time a disabled child must take in the daily lives of their families. At the time, I felt bitter towards her, not knowing how difficult raising a disabled child could truly be.
In this book, the authors point out the significant number of impoverished children who live with developmental disabilities. In many instances, children with disabilities in the U.S. are significantly more likely to live in poverty. To this point, Fujiura and Yamaki (2000) found that 28% of U.S. children with disabilities lived below the federal poverty threshold, as contrasted with 16% of children who were living without disabilities.
Why is this the case? The authors highlight that the relationship between children with developmental

disabilities and family poverty is complex and is not necessarily interconnected. In the same vein, many studies suggest that the causality between the two may be mixed (Porterfield & Tracey, 2003; Petrenchik, 2008; Parish, Rose, Grinstein-Weiss, & Andrews, 2008). Children living in poverty are exposed to multiple risk factors associated with developmental disabilities (Broussard & Joseph, 2009). Reversely, the costs associated with raising a child with a developmental disability will greatly increase the risks of living in poverty (Broussard & Joseph, 2009).
Using the observations made in “Family Poverty in Diverse Contexts” and additional articles I read, we can examine the challenges and problems that disabled children and their family may confront, how the help has been provided from government, and how we could improve the service for them.
As we lightly touched on earlier, children with developmental disabilities (i.e. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, mental retardation, and genetic disorders such as Down’s Syndrome, etc.) often rely on their families to care for them, as these children are very limited in their ability to make decisions or live independently (Broussard & Joseph, 2009). Moreover, when these children and their families live in poverty, they must confront additional challenges. Impoverished families with disabled children must cope, not only with the child’s disability itself, but also with the added burdens of poverty-related health disparities, social disadvantages, inadequate health-related services, and the extra direct costs (time, money, and resources). Sometimes, there is even a stigma associated with disabilities, causing additional societal challenges (Broussard & Joseph, 2009). For these families, providing physical, social, emotional, and developmental support for a disabled child can be overwhelming, particularly in the absence of adequate resources and social supports.
In Hanvey’s study, these families were reported spending between 50-60 hours per week, above and beyond household responsibilities and paid work, on personal care, advocacy, coordination of services, and transportation for their disabled child (Hanvey, 2002).

In addition, parents often work to create peer relationships for their child, lobby for needed services and supports, and strive to ensure their child’s acceptance and participation in the community. Such demands often result in exhaustion and create undue hardships for these families. The caregiving demands for these parents have been shown to directly, and negatively, impact both their psychological well-being and physical health (Brehaut et al., 2004; Raina, et al., 2005). In this regard, some studies have found that these families are easily dissolved since smaller daily stresses may be amplified due to the stress of

childrearing.
Many studies indicate that financial strains are one of the most frequent concerns for these families (Porterfield & Tracey, 2003; Petrenchik, 2008; Parish, Rose, Grinstein-Weiss, & Andrews, 2008). Disabled children and their families usually receive help from Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Food Stamps. However, I believe these forms of public help are usually disproportionately represented. This discrepancy is because the real cost of raising children with disabilities can be difficult to gauge. Policymakers often lack the information they need to help these families while conserving scarce public resources. Too often these families are living in poverty and struggling to obtain the services and supports they desperately need. As stated by Valentine (2001) there is “no coherent vision for achieving the best possible policy mix for children with disabilities and their parents.”
The important challenge in addressing these families’ needs is to identify the best policy for disabled children and their families. Additionally, there must be services, interventions, and community supports that make it possible for disabled children and their families to access the resources and services they need throughout childhood, including times of major life transitions. To correctly develop these supports for them, I believe researchers, service providers, and policy makers must invest in a strategic framework and concrete action plan with a strong evaluation framework based on closer observation of those families. In this way, the government may be able to revise and develop better policies towards these children and their families.
Furthermore, Hanvey (2002) discusses the unmet needs of disabled children within the education system. According to a recent Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS), nearly 25% of children with disabilities have an unmet need for special education. 17% of disabled children have an unmet need for educational aids, including tutors, teacher’s aides, special software and attendant care services. Parents also cite a lack of funding within the school system as the most frequent reason for this unmet need. Parents of children with emotional, psychological, or behavioral conditions report they find it especially difficult to obtain special education services for their child. Therefore, the government has to invested more money into special education fields so that these children may gain a better education.
In conclusion, there is much that needs to be done in developing policies that are capable of benefiting current and future families of disabled children. This is the time to build on what we know and take action. As we previously discussed, the high levels of financial stress these families incur means that government-based support is absolutely crucial.