SOCW-6210-6351-W4-Reponses
RESPONSE 1
Respond to at least two colleagues in one of the following ways:
§ Critique your colleague’s explanation of how poverty impacts individuals in young and middle adulthood.
§ State whether you agree or disagree with your colleague’s position on whether poverty is the result of cultural or individual characteristics. Provide support for your position.
§ Reply to a colleague who selected a theory of poverty that differs from the one you selected by critiquing his or her evaluation of the theory.
Be sure to support your responses with specific references to the resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
Colleague 1: JM
How can poverty impact the lives of individuals in young and middle adulthood? It can impact them in a multitude of ways. It can have an impact on education, socialization, and general health, to name a few. When living in poverty, individuals in young adulthood can’t afford to even of think of going to college- if they were even able to finish high school. Adults in middle adulthood, because of their lack of education, may have extreme difficulty finding a job and supporting themselves or a family. In terms of socialization, young adults miss out on a ton of opportunities to hang out with friends, as activities usually cost money. For middle adults, entertaining others may be difficult, as those activities also cost money, as well as living conditions may not be suitable for such activities. General health: for young adults, proper nutrition and exercise are key. However, again, money comes into play. Exercising can cost money, from gym memberships to sneakers. Fresh food costs an insane amount of money as compared to fast or pre-prepared food. In middle adulthood, health concerns such as weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease can become more prevalent. Let’s not forget the emotional toll constantly worrying about money can take on a person.
It can be argued that poverty is a cultural characteristic as opposed to individual. Often, children who grow up in poverty end up living their whole life in poverty (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2014). There are multiple accounts of people feeling guilty for leaving their families behind as they become successful; there are also accounts of family members accusing individuals of thinking they’re “better” than others for finishing school or moving out of a “bad” area because they can now afford it. If a child grows up in poverty and in a disadvantaged area, goes to school in that area, sees many unemployed and no one dreaming of getting out, why would they?
While it can be argued that it’s a tad bit socialist-y, the Conflict Theory as it relates to poverty resonated with me. The Conflict Theorists beliefs that “…poverty can best be dealt with by the poor becoming politically aware and organizing to reduce inequality through government action” (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman, 2014, pg. 571). As a social worker, this would be a great philosophy to have in terms of encouraging clients to advocate for themselves. It would also be great, as a social worker, in terms of advocating for clients. It is also a chance to get the “higher ups” involved: bringing the CEO of a company into the neighborhood of some of his/her workers to see how they live and what the wages they get actually buy.
While I’m a fan of this theory, a problematic element could be actually how one goes about advocating for clients or getting in contact with higher ups in the company. It may not be feasible in practice to bring CEOs to neighborhoods, but perhaps some ideas could be modified to get the same point across.
Resources
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Colleague 2: LM
Hello Everyone,
Poverty impacts the experiences of individuals in young, and middle adulthood in many ways. The young are vulnerable, and recognize the appearance of poverty early on in their lives. Usually, school aged children begin to notice if they have adequate clothing like other children, they learn, and talk about their parents occupations, begin to know what parts of town their friends live in, and begin to compare the things that they have, to the things that others have. Poverty also usually impacts the experiences of the young because, it exposes them to inadequate education, health issues such as led poisoning due to led based painted homes in low income neighborhoods, asthma from pollution, and breathing problems. “Poverty also leads to despair, low self-esteem, and stunting of physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth”, (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016 p. 564). Although; those individuals in middle adulthood are not as vulnerable as the young, poverty still impacts their experiences. Middle adulthood individuals usually suffer from illnesses due a poor diet and lack of nutritional foods. They also suffer from inadequate healthcare, lower paying jobs, lack of education, and have a “high susceptibility to emotional disturbances, aalcoholism’s, and victimization by criminals as well as a shorter life expectancy, “Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016 p. 564).
I personally think that poverty is the result of both cultural, and individual characteristics because, some people come from generations of poverty.”The individual who grows up in this culture has a strong feeling of fatalism, helplessness, dependence and inferiority; a strong present-time orientation with relatively little disposition to defer gratification, and plan for the future and a high tolerance for psychological pathology of all kinds”, (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2016 p. 568). This has become not only part of their culture but, the norm for their circumstances and way of living. These generations of people have lived on government assistance, lack education, and have lived in low income housing for years. On the other hand, some individuals grow up wealthy, and due to poor choices they end up in poverty. One of the major choices that causes individuals to become poverty stricken is substance abuse. However; their are also other things that cause individuals to become apart of poverty, and those things include mental illness, and layoffs.
Both aspects of this theory would be suitable for my practice because, I want to assure individuals from both cultural, and individual characteristics of the poverty spectrum to look for outlets that will break the cycle of poverty. As a social worker my job is to help my clients find jobs that will help them out of poverty, find adequate housing, places that help furnish clothing for children and families, and food banks. I would also encourage those that are mentally ill to get the proper medications that tthey need, as well proper housing. The only aspects that I find problematic interms fo my knowledge of social work practice is that, some individuals dont see a problem with their situations. As i mentioned earlier, some families see poverty as the norm. And as far as those mentally ill clients, some refuse to get help because, they are afraid they will be institutionalized. So they continue to live in poverty.
Zastrow, C. H., & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (2016). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (10th ed.). Boston MA:Cengage Learning.
RESPONSE 2
· Respond to at least two colleagues by explaining a change for which you might advocate with regard to the policy your colleague described.
· Then, explain what responsibility Eboni’s social worker has to identify lapses in services and advocate for policy changes .
Support your response with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your references.
Colleague 1:RW
Means-tested programs that could be available to Eboni in the state of Indiana consists of food stamps, welfare/public housing, medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for needy Families (TANF). With the programs available to Eboni, in the State of Indiana, if she chooses to parent, she would be able to meet her financial concerns, and provide a stable environment for her children. As a state employee, I am very versed in the resources our state has to offer. As a social worker, knowing that Eboni is a teenage mother, with a little support system in her mother, I would also link her to community partnership programs, such as S.C.A.N. (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect). These programs and resources could assist with daycare services, as well as occasionally paying her rent or utilities if she finds herself struggling. They can also assist her with finding employment opportunities as well.
Colleague 2: PW
In Eboni Logan’s case, she is a teenager who got pregnant unexpectedly and does not know what to do about her pregnancy. Her mother wants her to get an abortion because she does not want her daughter to end up a single mother like she did and she does not want to take care of her grandchild full time. She wants her daughter to go to college so that she can have a better life than she experienced. This is what every parent wants for their child. She also believes that state assistance is only temporary and will expire before she can find adequate employment that will take care of herself and her child.
Eboni’s mother is right about the fact that some state assistance programs are temporary and will run out because they are structured in such a way as to bridge that unemployment gap so that the recipient can find employment and still meet their basic needs. If Eboni lives in Georgia, she would be eligible for so many programs that would help her get her college education, take care of her child, and get a rewarding job at the same time. Georgia encourages people who are unemployed and are…
