Poverty is one of the most significant factors placing children at risk for developmental delays and success at school. Regrettably, poverty is a fact of life for too many young children in the United States.
Federal Poverty Guidelines
Revised Poverty Guidelines were issued on January 18, 2018, by the Department of Health and Human Services. Effective March 19, 2018, the revised Poverty Guidelines must be used in making determinations of eligibility for uncompensated services.
The poverty guidelines continue to be derived from the Census Bureau’s current official poverty thresholds; they are not derived from the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).
Here is the Chart on 2018 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia
| Persons in family/household | Poverty guideline |
|---|---|
| 1 | $12,140 |
| 2 | 16,460 |
| 3 | 20,780 |
| 4 | 25,100 |
| 5 | 29,420 |
| 6 | 33,740 |
| 7 | 38,060 |
| 8 | 42,380 |
For families/households with more than 8 persons, you must add $4,320 for each additional person.
Now, some children living in poverty may qualify for subsidized services (not always the government can cover services for all children in poverty and many are sitting on wait lists). Some other children who do not fall within the poverty guidelines can’t get services due to economical challenges, lack of income to pay for self-insurance, lack of parental employment with benefits, and so on. We must acknowledge that families of children with special needs have extra expenses they make related to provision of services and driving distances.
On the same topic of poverty, I found the Poor Kids Documentary (PBS). The video presents the case of four families struggling with poverty. Their stories are narrated mainly by the children, as they explain what feels like to be poor and experience hunger.
One of the families is expecting a baby. Zakk is diagnosed with autism. This is a longitudinal study that followed the same families over a period of time. It’s a long video (about 58 minutes), but’s worth to watch. Zakk is featured in the 4th segment of the video, but it may make more sense to watch the video to understand the family’s story. (most likely an add will run before the video). Enable CC if you need.
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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/poor-kids/
Resources
Poor Kids (PBS). 11/22/2017) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/poor-kids/. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved on 10/26/2018
YouTube Video. The Correlation between Poverty and Special Education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnvf766_GY Retrieved on 10/26/2018. Standard YouTube License.
