Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

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Undisputedly poverty has been one of the major persistent social problems in the United States for hundreds of years. Poverty does not discriminate against Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, homosexuals, heterosexuals, age, gender, or persons with disabilities. Poverty can strike any population, community, ethnic group, and family. According to the U.S Census Bureau, 43.6 million people were in poverty in 2009 which was an increase from 2008. (Insert citation for website). There are multiple causes of why a family or individual can fall into poverty, which includes but not limited to, disability, unemployment, age, and recessions, as for which we have seen through the 2008 recession and the Great Depression. Throughout this paper I will address poverty as a social problem and its causes. I will also focus on how children and family households headed by single mothers are effected by poverty, and how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families came about to help children and families in poverty.

Before we can explain the causes of poverty, one must first define what poverty is. If you were to ask someone for their definition of poverty, you would get several different definitions. There has been much conflict in the United States over defining poverty, but according to Diana DiNitto (2007), poverty can be defined in six different ways. Poverty as deprivation, inequality, lack of human capital, culture, exploitation, and structure are the six different ways. When a family or individual does not have the adequate amount of income to meet all of their basic needs, they are described as being deprived. Poverty as deprivation explains that a family or individual is deprived when they are living below the standard of...

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...account not all recipients are able to accept these types of jobs especially those with young children. I think that if a recipient has found a job but is unable to accept the job because of late hours and they have reached their two year mark, then they should be a grace period on their five year time limitation until they are unable to find a better job. The recipient may only be granted the grace period if they show documented proof that they have found a job but is unable to accept because of the circumstance of not having childcare during the work hours given. The government has created many programs under the Social Security Act to help prevent poverty. Even though programs similar to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families have done their part in trying to prevent poverty, revision must continue to be made it order to reduce the United States poverty rate.

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