Child poverty in the United States from the perspective of conflict theory

Abstract

This article analyzes social problems linked to child poverty in the United States from the perspective of social conflict theory. Specifically, this article depicts the poverty meas-urements used to evaluate poverty issues in the United States. It also describes the United States’ efforts to reform social welfare policies to decrease child poverty. This article aims to educate social work students about factors directly connected to child poverty, such as unemployment, low wages, family structure, education, and immigrants. In doing so, this article uses social theories such as social conflict theory to understand what aspects of American culture are linked to the persistence of child poverty. Finally, this article dis-cusses the long-term plans and massive efforts required to reduce the causes of poverty.