Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1) | Page 78

Understanding Policy Issues in Poverty

long-term life chances. In the case of the States, programs which help families
pay for private rental homes and apartments in neighbourhoods of their
choice perform much better than programs that subsidize the construction
and operation of low-income housing projects. Children in US whose
parents grew up in high-poverty neighbourhoods score dramatically worse
on reading and problem-solving tests than those whose parents grew up in
non-poor neighbourhoods, all else equal3. We are fortunate that we do not
have these extremes and relatively few stubborn intergenerational links. But
we are not immune to the challenges of pockets of our communities that face
disadvantages posed by being poor. We can do more to ensure access to
good quality education starting from pre-school for these families. We can
also do more to help these families to navigate to use any help extended and
especially paid work.

Social work skills
To address issues of low-income and the poor, public policy and strategies at
the systems level are key. At the individual family level however, the familycentred practice of social workers will help families to improve their capacities.
The practice includes three key elements: (1) an emphasis on strengths,
not deficits of these families; (2) promoting family choice and control over
resources; and (3) the development of a collaborative relationship between
parents and professionals that the families interface with.
Social work skills are needed to carry out good assessments, develop service
plans and conduct purposeful interventions with children, youths, older
persons and families. Effective family-centred practice is part of helping
low-income families to improve their circumstances and it is characterised
by sensitivity, diversity, and flexibility on the part of social workers. It is a

3 Stuck in Place - Urban Neighborhoods and the End of Progress toward Racial Equality by
Patrick Sharkey, University of Chicago Press, 2013

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