Improving the Life Chances of Children in Poverty: Assumptions and What We Have Learned

©1998 Society for Research in Child Development. All rights reserved. In spite of more than three decades of antipoverty programs, the number of children living in poverty has increased in recent years (Carnegie Task Force, 1994; National Center for Children in Poverty, 1996). Reasons for this include an increase in the number of single-parent families, a declining labor market for low-skilled workers, and reduced welfare benefits to poor families (Duncan, 1991). For children and families, the correlates of living in poverty are many. Mothers in poverty may suffer a variety of psychological consequences, including low self-esteem, depression, lack of hope for the future, lack of sense of personal empowerment, low aspirations, and social isolation. They may have health problems such as untreated chronic illness, anemia stemming from poor nutrition, and are increased risk of substance abuse. The combination of unfinished education, absence of parental role models, and social supports often leaves them with inadequate life management skills; they may have difficulty making decisions, be unable to manage limited budgets, and have little understanding of what it takes to be a good parent. Facing difficulties, both practical and motivational, in completing their education or acquiring job skills, they may remain dependent on welfare and unable to achieve even limited economic self-sufficiency (McLoyd, Jayaratne, Ceballo, & Borquez, 1994). Poverty places severe strains on family relationships, including conflict with a spouse, spousal abuse, and marital dissolution. Frequently, if the child’s father lacks job prospects, marriage is deferred or not entered into. The family faces constrained resources in terms of income, housing, food, and transportation, as well as inadequate or totally absent social supports. Dangerous neighborhoods place additional stress on the family, and poor schools fail to offer needed support (Huston, McLoyd, & Garcia Coll, 1994). The economic, social, physical, or psychological stresses associated with poverty affect parent-child relationships. Parents who them-