Correlation Between Poverty And Childhood Neglect In Our Communities

What can be done to prevent neglect in our communities? First as a community we need to understand how serious neglect is to a child’s well- being. In the reading of McSherry’s article discussed how a person’s understanding of the serious nature of neglect depended on a person’s level of social work involvement (2007, pg. 611). For example a foster care provider sees neglect as less serious than does a Case worker and a layperson sees at as less significant than the foster care provider(2007, pg. 611). It can be surprising for a layperson so find out how damaging neglect is to the long term development of a child. Because of this social perception it can be difficult to get the greater community behind a problem it might see as having limited negative effects on children. Developing a community understanding of what neglect is and how it harms children is needed to begin the work of addressing neglect in our local communities.
Researchers appear to agree that there is a correlation between poverty and childhood neglect. Raising more families out of poverty seems like it would be an easy fix, but this is not something that can be addressed in communities. It is something that needs to be addressed politically and in this current political climate both parties are on opposite sides of how to fix the welfare problem. In my opinion, one way to address the issue of poverty is to raise the national minimum wage to a living wage. Communities can get involved and vote for leaders who will address this issue. Additionally, voters need to use their voice either to approve raising the minimum wage or by letting their elected officials know this is something that needs to be