During the Spring 2017 semester, I completed the Practice with Organizations & Communities group project alongside 3 classmates for the Shippensburg Coalition Resource Center (SCRC). First I had to learn about the social issue the organization was targeting which was the diaper gap. During the research, I learned about the diaper gap which is no federal assistance that provides diapers for people in poverty. There are a lot of impacting factors that relate to the diaper gap which is the reason why my group decided to hold a diaper drive and an awareness event. Through assessing our project, I have many points to reflect on. I was able to connect my group experience to the social work competencies and practice behaviors to show professional …show more content…
For a family in poverty, that is a very large portion of their income. This cost is especially hard to cover considering many families have more than one child. It is eye-opening to know that families reportedly need twice as much income as the federal poverty line’s estimate of what it takes to provide basic necessities such as housing and food, this does not even consider diapers as a basic necessity. This issue is already a concern for low-income families, in a recent study roughly 28% of pregnant and parenting women reported a diaper need (Smith, Kruse, Weir, & Goldblum, 2013).
The scope of this issue is very large in the United States. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 3 American families struggle to afford diapers (Porter & Steefel, 2015). Another statistic related to the scope of the diaper gap is that 48% of infants and Toddlers under three years of age in the United States live in low income families (Addy & Wright, 2012). This creates difficulty in accessing diapers since there is no federal
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Luckily, this issue has recently been addressed in the media and by the federal government. This social issue has become so important that under the Obama Administration, the Whitehouse released information about the diaper gap filled with much of the research that has been performed. In 2016, the Obama Administration budgeted 10 million dollars to test effective ways they can give families in need access to diapers. The Whitehouse has also released strategies on how to expand access to diapers for low-income families and partnered with non-profits, diaper manufacturers, and online retailers. However, at the time Congress had not addressed the diaper gap which has stalled progress in solving the social issue (Munoz,
Why choose cloth diapers? Real Diaper Association Diaper Facts.. (n.d.). Why choose cloth diapers? Real Diaper Association Diaper Facts.. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts
Cook, Selig, Wedge, and Gohn-Baube (1999) stated that an essential part of the country’s public health agenda is to improve access to prenatal care, particularly for economically disadvantaged women. I agree with this statement because access to care is very important for the outcome of a healthy mother and child. Improving access to prenatal care for disadvantaged women will not only save lives but also lighten the high financial, social, and emotional costs of caring for low weight babies. Some of the barriers that these women face are mainly structural where the availability of care is limited; the cost of care is a financial burden; and the time to seek care is problematic due to being single mothers working more than one job (Lia-Hoagberb, 1990). Additionally, there is the issue of prenatal care being delivered differently depending on one’s race. A study found that White mothers delivering ve...
Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 127. Shi, L., & Stevens, G. D. (2010). A general framework to study vulnerable populations. In Vulnerable Populations in the United States (2nd ed. , pp. 1).
Lindsay, T., & Orton, S. (2008). Groupwork practice in social work (2nd ed.). Exeter: Learning Matters.
Today, a lot of mothers of infants under 12 ¾ months need to put their
Poverty is the primary reason that a disproportionate number of Black children end up in ...
This underserved community has many problems such as preterm birth, teen pregnancy, low use of breastfeeding, and high rate of maternal mortality. Preterm birth is highly prevalent in the community, with 15.5% higher than the Healthy People goal of 11.4%. In addition, teen pregnancy is another concern in the community with being the highest in the Queens, New York City and New York State rate. Queens also has the lowest level of breastfeeding compare to other areas in the New York City. Maternal mortality is three times higher in African American in the NYC area than those of other races. This program focuses on reducing these health disparities and improves the health of those
Ensuring children are well-nourished and dewormed – USDA program WIC (US) for helping mothers and children with food and nutrition for poor families
There are many things in this world are expensive. A lot of people will agree that raising children is one. Children require food, shelter, medical insurance, and clothes. This is still no excuse for abortion. There is several government and non-government funded agencies and funding available to help with families who may be struggling to provide for their families. There are several options such as welfare, snap benefits program, food banks, thrift stores, and many others that help lighten the stressful financial load of raising children. There are programs like Medicaid, which provides health coverage for individuals making below a certain income, which differs from state to state. There is also a CHIP program (Children’s Health Care and Insurance) that provides coverage to nearly 8 million children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford coverage, (Medicaid.gov.) Between Medicaid and the CHIP program coverage is provided to more than 45 million children in the United States. (Medicaid.gov). All children involved in the Medicaid and CHIP program are entitled to comprehensive medical plans. (Medicad.gov children) Medical care is a big expense for some families. Medicaid and CHIP cover a lot of children but for some that do not qualify for either there is also Obamacare, which is suppose to be affordable healthcare for Americans. There are also local clinics that will see patients for little or nothing if individuals do not have insurance. There are also programs that assist with food. Snap is a program whose purpose is to end hunger and improve nutrition by providing monthly benefits to eligible low income households to help them buy the food they need for good health, (benefits,gov SNAP) Th...
912). The center provides private restrooms for boys and girls to respect their modesty and allow for proper growth and development. The young toddlers did not have control of their bladder, so they still wore diapers. I did not observe any children that had to unbutton or unzip any clothing, but based on watching toddlers and younger children play with toys and using utensils to eat, I would think the task would be difficult for them.
A pregnant mom to be that lives her life in poverty tends to not be able to get all the daily nutrients that she needs to allow the healthy development of the baby. Often the baby is born with a low birth weight, which later can cause infant mortality, physical problems and mental problems. 80% of poverty mom-to-be’s will give birth to low birth weight infants.
The field placement experience at Silver Saddle group home allowed me the opportunity to put into practice what I have learned while in the Social Work program her at Northern Arizona University. Throughout field placement I have had the opportunity to practice on a micro, mezzo, and macro level and strengthen my professional social work skill while maintaining a ethical standpoint. Field has also allowed me hands on experience to advocate for clients, insure social justice, provide services, and build strong relationships with clients and the community.
Financially, raising a child can be overwhelming. A September 2005 survey in the peer-reviewed journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health asking women why they had an abortion, found that 73% of respondents said they could not afford to have a baby (Abortion). In this country, there are 46.5 million people living at or below the poverty line. Frightening but true, over five million more women than men are living below the poverty line (Poverty in the United States: A Snapshot). If any of these women living below the poverty line become pregnant, they should have the option to abort if they realize that they cannot provide for that child. If not, a child growing up in poverty may be compromised in his ability to succeed in school; his social and emotional well-being, and his health may also be affected. If approximately 13 million of America’s children live in poverty, abortion may be a way to keep the number of In deciding to keep the baby, mothers take into consideration their current lifestyle and whether it is fit or not to support a child.
1) Reproductive health is important for women around the world. Women with reproductive capacity require ongoing health care to protect their health and the health of their newborns. The increased and sustained investment in reproductive health will ensure that women are able to receive preventive care prior during and after their pregnancies (Singh, Darroch, & Lori, 2014). This will help decrease the number of infants deaths related to pregnancies. It will also decrease the number of deaths with pregnant women. Investing in reproductive health may decrease the burden that steams from infant and women deaths that are related to pregnancy. Reproductive health has improved globally. However, disparities still exist between developed and developing countries (Singh et al., 2014). Therefore, it is important for countries throughout the world to invest in new technologies to strengthen reproductive health in areas that lack adequate preventive reproductive health services. This will allow countries to decrease the number of still births, miscarriages, and infants and women deaths. This will return the burden of these conditions. Moreover, many
In reflection on my learning experience in the group class, I have gained clarity on what sorts of competencies of facilitating group therapy, as well as in what areas social workers and students tend to feel most strong in my practice. Regarding my specific gains in competencies, I feel that I learned the most and was most likely to gain specific group facilitating competencies at the weekly class. Learning in group class is taught me the tools to use to work with groups therapy, communities and also with individuals through the process of changes. In this past three months I think a lot of opportunities have been created to shadowing with (beside and behind) and being a part of group members to learn. In addition, this class has taught me about the skills and how effectively help