The given assessment will primarily focus on the issue of poverty among children, which is considered to be one of the most prominent groups of vulnerable populations. Pregnant women, older adults, people with disabilities, and refugees can be regarded as highly vulnerable groups. The most common social issues among these individuals are homelessness, poverty, substance abuse, mental problems, and health complications. Although the analysis specifically discusses poverty among children, the selected issue is present and prevalent almost in every vulnerable group. The issues are also highly interconnected, where the emergence of one factor contributes to the proliferation of another.
One should be aware that the majority of the described social issues are manifested in the lack of sufficient resources, funding, and financial base. Families with children are one of the groups of the population with the most needs, as their income is usually insufficient to maintain an acceptable standard of living. Families with children remain one of the most vulnerable groups in the labor force. For single-worker families with children under 18, the likelihood of being poor is significantly higher than the average for all workers. In a particularly disadvantaged position are families headed by women, the poverty rate among which reaches 25% (Chung et al., 2016).
Thus, the poverty rate among those in the labor force is significantly higher among part-time workers than among full-time workers, as well as among young people and women. Analysis of trends in the spread of poverty among the working population showed that despite the average level of wages in the United States, which is high by world standards, the problem of the working poor remains a chronic problem. An examination of the dynamics and structure of the composition of those who participate in the labor force and stay below the poverty line revealed that their share rises during crisis periods while slowly declining in the post-crisis period. The average poverty level among the working population needs to be specified since its values differ significantly depending on the age, gender, racial and ethnic groups to which the workers belong.
One of the most plausible solutions lies in the fact that certain priorities need to be made in the case of any poverty-related issue. Health and education can be considered as the most critical elements, which are severely deprived of the target population. It is stated that a wide range of social determinants of health need to be monitored and tracked in order to ensure that the health conditions of these children are not affected. The notion includes child maltreatment, health illiteracy, physical environment, family financial support, household substance abuse, and firearm exposure (Chung et al., 2016).
Therefore, it is important for clinicians, local authorities, and communities to be able to implement the required tools and integrate essential protocols in order to have the capability to screen these social determinants of health among children living in poverty. In addition, both state and federal government units need to facilitate the development of accessible and high-quality education programs for the target population. It will enable better social mobility for both children and their parents, who will be able to provide a sufficient amount of resources. It is evident that certain communities and neighborhoods’ location can be a key determining factor of building an inescapable social trap, where children are under the constant pressure of poverty.
Reference
Chung, E. K., Siegel, B. S., Garg, A., Conroy, K., Gross, R. S., Long, D. A., … Fierman, A. H. (2016). Screening for social determinants of health among children and families living in poverty: A guide for clinicians. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 46(5), 135-153. Web.