The Problem Description
The problem discussed in the policy brief presented by the Institute for Research on Poverty is the correlation between early financial support and future children’s incomes. The main idea was to support the hypothesis regarding the impact of a more wealthy childhood on future well-being. The provision and expansion of the EITC payments are the primary suggestions that should be sponsored by the federal government (Institute for Research on Poverty, 2022). From the long-term perspective, the early financing of families with newborns is beneficial for the particular country and the whole society in general. The problem is directly connected to minimizing the impacts of poverty. The children who are the future of society should be supported during their early years to have the potential to become successful members of the community, avoiding their parents’ experience.
The data supporting the hypothesis was collected by the Institute based on practical research. The families living below and above the poverty threshold were analyzed (Institute for Research on Poverty, 2022). The correlations between the material level of the children in their childhood and adulthood were found based on the tax filings and transfers (Institute for Research on Poverty, 2022). The research data emphasizes adults’ lives’ educational, health, family, and behavioral aspects. Better living conditions provide more advanced future career opportunities for children, which improves the potential quality of their lives.
Structural Functionalism Perspective
The problem can be considered from the perspective of structural functionalism. This sociological perspective states that all structural elements of society are interrelated, impacting each other (Izadi et al., 2020). The mentioned problem is a direct example of such a correlation: the general poverty level and the well-being of adults are connected with the early children’s material support. In other words, the successful developmental stages of the people impact the country’s general prosperity. The material support can ensure the children’s better health, behavioral, and educational development. Material security and better life conditions allow people to develop their cognitive skills. The future profession and career opportunities are related to the skills gained during childhood and knowledge developed through professional education (Duh-Leong et al., 2022). Therefore, the two structural elements within the scope of social interactions are connected: the life-success and early childhood material support. Moreover, there is a more significant correlation between preferential payments and the poverty level decrease.
Solution To The Problem
The problem solution is mentioned in the analyzed article. The researchers consider it beneficial to maintain the families with the newborns materially (Izadi et al., 2020). Even the small material support may allow parents to ensure more favorable living conditions for their children. Better clothes, food, and education provide more opportunities for children. Moreover, expanding early childhood support is a beneficial economic decision because it contributes to future poverty level minimization (Duh-Leong et al., 2022). Such solutions as EITC expansion and dependent exemption of tax fillings can be significant support for families.
The mentioned solution can be extended by adding a strategy helping to solve the problem more efficiently. The creation of special preferential payments for families under the threshold of poverty may benefit the federal government from a long-term perspective. The plan may include the governmental budget allocations for this aim. The Institute for Research on Poverty has profound analytical data showing which percentage of families with children need support for improving living conditions. This data can be efficiently used to highlight the necessity of implementing support payments. Even though such a strategy is costly, its positive outcomes may be estimated over time. General minimizing the poverty level can be achieved by improving the material early childhood support.
Implementing Plan
The plan of budget allocation for supporting low-income families’ children can be implemented within practically any community. Considering the small town or suburban, the increase in payments can be achieved more efficiently compared to the large city. The first step indicates the families under the threshold of poverty with newborns. The second step is passing legislation on the local level regarding new payments. It is vital to address the question of how money can be spent to avoid the misuse of governmental support. The third step is to ensure that these families are under the expansion of EITC. Moreover, the mechanisms of collecting feedback and checking should be proposed. It allows for estimating the changes, improvements, and general efficiency of the strategy.
References
Duh-Leong, C., Fierman, A., & Tomopoulos, S. (2022). Economic coaching: Addressing poverty as a means of improving early child development. Pediatrics, 149(1), 1-3.
Institute for Research on Poverty. (2022). Why early financial support for new parents is a good investment. Institute for Research on Poverty.
Izadi, A., Memar, S., Mohammadi, M., & Nasekhian, S. (2020). Structural functionalism, social sustainability and the historic environment: A role for theory in urban regeneration.The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice, 11(2), 158-180.