Policy Action Plan

INTRODUCTION

IMPROVING THE WELL BEING OF FAMILIES AND CHILDREN IN THE STATE

POLICY BRIEF SUMMER 2018

Young families within the state are facing immense challenges in their well-being. Fundamentally they are experiencing difficulty in generating enough income regardless of how many jobs they take up. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the number of low income working families in the United States increased to 10.4 million in 2011, up from 10.2 million a year earlier. Consequently, parents are facing desperation and poverty and their children are the most affected. Cases of juvenile delinquency are on the rise. The adolescent and youth are going through such trauma in their early days that their ability to exploit their own potential is retarded. Sexual abuse, alcoholism and drug abuse are the major outcome and results in trauma. They are unable to do well in school and are at a high risk of not succeeding in life.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the number of low income working families in the United States increased to 10.4 million in 2011, up from 10.2 million a year earlier.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

The challenges that the adolescents and children experience should be considered and incorporated into the learning model and juvenile justice system.

Implement departments dedicated to cater to the needs of families and children. Create incentive to foster unique approaches to the individual family needs.

The state should especially prioritize children who have experienced trauma, drug abuse, sexual abuse, alcoholic parents, truancy and other related issues.

Behavioural health services should be properly equipped with personnel and facilities for them to optimize their services to the youth.

Working families should be offered a tax rebate when their income is overtaxed so that their resources are not stretched out too far. Budgeting is very difficult with such high expenditures beyond their control. A fiscal policy that would determine and allow this relief would encourage economic growth of families and would result in more financially stable homes.

SUGGESTED BUDGET STRUCTURES

Figure 1.Suggested budget structures for most low income families

HOW CAN WE MAKE FAMILIES STABLE?

The issues faced by the minors should be part of the curriculum. The most effective way to sensitize children against evils within their society is by making it part of learning. In school forums should be held by their teachers and open discussions initiated about their personal challenges. It will enable students to come forward with information that can enable preventative action. In court cases, the issues cases of child delinquency should be inclined towards rehabilitation and facilities that enable the reforms facilitated.

Departments that can specifically handle issues of family and children should be created. These departments should include family lawyers, social workers and childcare experts who can strategize on ways to handle cases such as child abuse and sexual offenses. The department should ensure proper monitoring and routine visits to homes with such reported cases. In special instances, when parental rights of parents are withdrawn due to negligence or abuse, the department should handle child protection or foster care.

Behavioural health services can be useful in preventing cases of abuse in the home. They should foster and encourage growth of responsible individuals. They should be properly equipped to facilitate optimal growth socially, economically, physically and in cognitive development. They should place emphasis on personal progress and ways of alleviating poverty.

Working families should be offered a tax rebate from their overall income so that they are able to meet more needs for their households. Although the legislature passed the rebate in 2008, it was suspended before implementation. It would go a long way in helping the economically struggling households. The extra coin could make a difference in desperate fathers who result to alcoholism and substance abuse as a form of relief.

IMPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS

Children who have been made aware of the issues at their door step are able to deal more maturely when faced with challenges. They are able to even come forward with information that can lead to arrests of drug peddlers.

The sensitization of the children within their curriculum will reduce cases of delinquency

Parents who attend behavioural health services can be taught better ways of managing stress and how to live a more productive life. They can be taught effective but positive avenues to deal with life’s pressures.

Departments that squarely focus on family and children issues can work with the community to identify suspicious behaviour and abused children and take the necessary steps to secure the affected children.

Families will benefit immensely from a reduction of their taxes and they will be more capable of meeting their needs. They can be more economically empowered and move away from poverty and desperation.

The support of families will be a preventative move to avert future crisis. Cases of drug and substance abuse will drop as well as child delinquency,

CONCLUSION

It is a civic duty to protect the citizens, staring with the most basic unit which is the family. Well being is paramount to future success of our state. The children of today are the leaders that will drive the agenda in the near future. It is important to nurture the children at a tender age so that they will become dependable, responsible citizens. Ensuring that families are taken care of is a preventative action in itself. It decreases the occurrence of social evils associated with poverty and desperation.

References

Gadsden, V. L., Ford, M. A., Breiner, H., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). (2016). Parenting matters: Supporting parents of children ages 0-8. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press

Maholmes, V., & King, R. B. (2012). The Oxford handbook of poverty and child development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011). Doing Better for Families. Paris: OECD Publishing.

July 2018