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Title: Life Circumstances and Development of Children in Welfare Families: A Profile Based on National Survey Data
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Zill, Nicholas Moore, Kristin Anderson Smith, Ellen Wolpow Stief, Thomas |
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Life Circumstances and Development of Children in Welfare Families: A Profile Based on National Survey Data Research Report, Washington DC: Child Trends, October 29, 1991 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Publisher: Child Trends, Inc. Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); General Assessment; Health Care; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Household Composition; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Welfare The finding that welfare children exhibit problems such as low achievement, grade repetition, and classroom conduct disorders at rates double those shown by non-poor children means the "cycle of disadvantage" is still very much with us. Unless effective interventions are found and applied, many of these young people will go on to become adult non-workers and impoverished or dependent parents, perhaps producing another generation of high-risk children. The similarities between children in families receiving AFDC and other poor children suggest that low parent education, poverty, and family turmoil are detrimental to children's development, no matter what the particular sources of the family's financial support or the predominant family configuration might be. The findings may also mean that if families move from being "welfare poor" to "working poor," the overall life chances of the children will not necessarily be enhanced. The findings regarding the home environments of children suggest that many mothers in low-income families need more than remedial education or job training; some need training in effective childrearing practices. A lack of parental stimulation may not be the only handicap, or even the most significant impediment faced by children in AFDC families, but it is a handicap that can be addressed through programs such as parenting education, high quality child care, and compensatory preschool. Finally, there is the finding that welfare children are clearly doing better than children in other low-income families with respect to receipt of routine health care. This finding reinforces concerns about the possible negative effects on children of a loss of Medicaid benefits as parents move from AFDC dependency to precarious self-sufficiency. |
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Bibliography Citation
Zill, Nicholas, Kristin Anderson Moore, Ellen Wolpow Smith and Thomas Stief. "Life Circumstances and Development of Children in Welfare Families: A Profile Based on National Survey Data." Research Report, Washington DC: Child Trends, October 29, 1991. |