Analysis Of Kozol's Rachel And Her Children

When people think of social services, usually they tend to think of them in a positive connotation. They usually assume that they are providing those who cannot provide for themselves. At least that is what they are supposed to do. In Jonathan Kozol's Rachel and Her Children, Kozol is a reporter who interviews people in poverty, especially those who live in the Martinique Hotel. He spends time with all different types of people of all race and genders, and really gets to know not only them, but their families as well. As Kozol digs deeper and deeper into the truth of poverty, he realizes that social services are not what they are perceived to be. In fact, they are quite the opposite. Social services is defined as a service provided or undertaken
Food Stamps is a type of social service that people in poverty get access to when they cannot afford to buy food. It is given by the government in voucher form and certain stores except the voucher exchange it for food. According to Kozol, the food stamps that are give are completely inconsistent. When he is visiting Mr. Alessandro, he goes through his food stamp receipts. "In June his food-stamp allocation was $145. In August, the first stage of government reductions lowered this to $65. In October: $50. As of December it will be $33"(74). This is utterly unfair to those in need of these services. His allocation was cut over 50% in six months. Social services expect families to be fed off of $33 a week. A family of four people to fed off of that small amount of money. That is all the money allowed to be spent on food. An average New Yorker spends $33 on one full meal, not including the other two main meals they eat a day. Families starve due to these budget cuts. Malnutrition is so dangerous for young kids and increases the risk for catching deadly diseases. How do teachers expect children to focus and learn, if their stomachs are growling with hunger? This kind of mistreatment forces adults to dip into other social service money they receive, if they even are allowed this chance. The Aid to Families with Dependent Children, otherwise known as the AFDC, is a social service that provided financial assistance to families with little or no income. However, Kozol explains how "New York will spend a great deal less to support an AFDC child in the home of her real mother than to subsidize that child in a foster home. A twelve-year-old child living at home in New York City is allocated a maximum of $262 a month for all food, clothes, and rent expenses (1986). If this child were taken from her mother for "abuse or neglect," the child would