Family

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Family Community FinancesWhat A Difference
aState Makes
Lawrence Aber, Ph.D.National Center for Children
in PovertyMailman School of Public
HealthColumbia University
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Goals of Presentation

• Introduce the concrete reality of family finances
  when living on the line
• Describe the great variation in supports for
  low-income families their children within
  across States

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Present Evidence-based Model for how

• family finances affect parenting and
  childrens development
• neighborhood/community
• factors and government policies and programs
  affect family finances and childrens development

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Lives on the Line American Families and the
Struggle to Make Ends Meet Martha Shirk, Neil
G. Bennett, J. Lawrence Aber
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Chapter 9.Belonzi, Mississippi

• Celeste Lyles, mother, 37
• Curtis, son, 22
• Latoya, daughter, 19
• Jonquil, granddaughter, 3
• Nelson Mandela, son, 14
• Brittany, daughter, 10

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Lyles Basic Monthly Family Budget

• Income Celestes take-home pay 940
• Expenses Total 815
• Rent 227 Garbage 15
• Car payment 150 Cable TV 48
• Car insurance 40 Electricity 45
• Gasoline 35 Groceries 240
• Dryer payment 15

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Other Key Financial Realities

• Chronic
• Credit Card debt 12,000
• Episodic
• Emergency Dr. visits 110/mo.
• Asthma medication 200/mo.
• Car repair ?

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Chapter 3.Randolph County, Illinois

• Nancy Keebler, mother, 34
• Alice, daughter, 12
• Benji, son, 5

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Keebler Basic Monthly Family Budget

• Income
• Social Security Benefits 242
• Benjis SSI Benefit 388
• Public Aid 83
• Baby-sitting earnings 162
• Subtotal 875
• Food Stamps 95
• Total 970

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Keebler Basic Monthly Family Budget(continued)

• Income 970
• Expenses Total 988
• House Payment 81 Food 350
• Cable TV 38 Phone 80
• Water Gas 80
• Electricity 300
• Car insurance 43
• Install payment (vacuum cleaner) 16

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Other Key Financial Realities

• Chronic
• College loan debt 6,000
• Episodic
• Real Estate tax bill 400/2 mos.
• Home Owners Insurance 305/mo.
• Allergy medication 32/mo.
• Car repair ?

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Selected Elements of Policy Package, by Cluster
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Selected Elements of Policy Package, by Cluster
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Selected Elements of Policy Package, by Cluster
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Selected Elements of Policy Package, by Cluster
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Components of Annual NetFamily Income
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Components of Annual NetFamily Resources
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Developmental Processes
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Child Poverty in the U.S.
Toward an Evidence-based Model Gershoff, E.T.,
Aber, J.L. Raver, C.C. (in press) Child poverty
in the U.S. An evidence-based conceptual
framework for programs and policies. In R. M.
Lerner, F. Jacobs, D.Wertlieb (Eds.), Promoting
positive child, adolescent, and family
development A handbook of program and policy
innovations. Thousand Oaks, California Sage
Publications.
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Federal-, State-, and Community-Level Policy and
Program Interventions
1
2
3
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5
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Child Physical Development
Parent Investment
Family Income Poverty
Parent- and Family-Level Predictors of Income And
Hardship ? Parent Work Status ? Job Prestige ?
Education Level ? Parent Marital Status ?
Race-Ethnicity
Child Cognitive Development
Parent Behavior
Financial Hardship
Child Social-Emotional Development
Parent Distress
Neighborhood- and Community-Level Influences
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Appendix
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1. Parent-Directed Human Capital
Investment(increased as part of 1996PRWORA
legislation)

• Education Enhancement
• e.g., Pell grants for higher education
• Job Training
• e.g., One Stop Career Centers through Work
  Investment Act of 1998
• Reductions in Teen Pregnancy
• e.g., abstinence education, financial incentives

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2. Family-Directed Income Support(increased as
part of 1996 PRWORA legislation)

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
• Earned Income Tax Credit
• Raising the Minimum Wage to a Living Wage
• Child Support Enforcement Program
• Individual Development Accounts

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3. Family-Directed In-Kind Support

• Childrens Nutrition
• e.g., Food Stamps, WIC, National School Lunch,
  National School Breakfast
• Childrens Health Insurance
• e.g., Medicaid and SCHIP
• Child Care
• e.g., subsidies through CCDF, TANF
• Housing
• e.g., Section 8 vouchers, public housing, LIHEAP
• Transportation
• e.g., Job Access and Reverse Commute programs

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4. Parent-Directed Interventions

• Home Visiting, Family Preservation, and Family
  Support Programs
• family reunification services
• adoption promotion services
• in home crisis intervention
• respite care
• early developmental screening
• Family Resource Centers

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5. Two Generation Strategies

• Head Start and Early Intervention Programs
• Early Head Start and Comprehensive Child
  Development Program (CCDP)

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6. Child-Directed Programs

• Title I support to low-income schools
• After-School Programs

Back to Chart