I thought this was interesting

Saving Tiny Tim--Pediatrics and Childhood Poverty in the United States,  by Perri Klaas,  MD.

Dr Perri Klaas was the medical director of Reach Out and Read,  the national early literacy organisation which we participate with at work in our clinic.  I don't know if she still is.  Her Perspective article in the New England Journal of Medicine was published this week.  She talks about the challenge for paediatricians and practices serving as a medical home to evaluate the needs of patients and their families in regards to where they might be having trouble making ends meet and services that can be referred to help. It's worth a read,  and had some interesting statistics about extreme poverty in America.

We need more of these programmes

Suspension Is Not the Answer: Investing in Students' Mental Health Yields Academic Gains

Unfortunately, "support structures" and "second chances" are severely lacking for many in America today, particularly in minority and low-income communities. The United States has the most prisoners of any developed country in the world, both in terms of raw numbers and by percentage of the population. More citizens are behind bars in the US than in Russia, Mexico, Iran, India and China.

Who makes up America's prison population? Often inmates are adults who endured terrible violence and trauma as children, such as witnessing a parent's murder. A study by The Sentencing Project found that juveniles who received sentences of life in prison reported witnessing violence in their homes 79% of the time, and more than half (54.1%) witnessed weekly violence in their neighborhoods.

Children who are exposed to violence tend to suffer from a range of psychological issues, and often have "difficulties with attachment, regressive behavior, anxiety and depression and conduct problems." Without mental health support services, few are able to cope with the emotional stress in a productive manner on their own. Confused, angry or scared, a student's cries for help are commonly first expressed by acting out in school.

Regrettably, a school's frequent response to a student's "misbehavior" is ineffectual: just when the young person needs support and professional help the most, they are suspended, kicked back to the streets alone and vulnerable. According to the US Department of Education, the number of students who receive some form of academic suspension in America each year could fill 45 Super Bowl stadiums.

Watch. Listen. Think. Change.

Thanks to Deana Full, who shared this on Facebook.

Speaking of the Times

I don't agree with everything in this op-ed piece by Nicholas D Kristof, as it does contain quite a bit of stereotyping, but...there's quite a bit of truth, too, and it's an interesting read.

Profiting From a Child’s Illiteracy

This is what poverty sometimes looks like in America: parents here in Appalachian hill country pulling their children out of literacy classes. Moms and dads fear that if kids learn to read, they are less likely to qualify for a monthly check for having an intellectual disability.

Many people in hillside mobile homes here are poor and desperate, and a $698 monthly check per child from the Supplemental Security Income program goes a long way — and those checks continue until the child turns 18.

“The kids get taken out of the program because the parents are going to lose the check,” said Billie Oaks, who runs a literacy program here in Breathitt County, a poor part of Kentucky. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Via Bibliofuture on LISNews.org.

They've re-figured how they count poverty--and those who are not 'poor' but struggling

Older, Suburban and Struggling, ‘Near Poor’ Startle the Census

They drive cars, but seldom new ones. They earn paychecks, but not big ones. Many own homes. Most pay taxes. Half are married, and nearly half live in the suburbs. None are poor, but many describe themselves as barely scraping by.

Down but not quite out, these Americans form a diverse group sometimes called “near poor” and sometimes simply overlooked — and a new count suggests they are far more numerous than previously understood.

Here's the full graphic illustrating the numbers.

Another health issue in the South

HIV/AIDS-poverty link strongest in the South

Nearly all U.S. counties stricken with both high rates of HIV infection and poverty are located in Southern states, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from 43 states.

Tackling poverty and environmental issues

Meeting India's tree planting guru

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a novel way of providing employment to millions of poor in the eastern state of Bihar.

His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.

Evidence of Mr Raju's success could clearly be seen on 30 August, when he organised 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.

In doing so the agriculture graduate from Bangalore has provided "sustainable employment" to people living below the poverty line in Bihar.

A little scary

A couple of articles from recent editions of the Medscape paediatrics newsletter. You may need to register for free access to them.

Parasitic Infections More Common in US Than Had Been Thought (based on a paper called Neglected Diseases and Poverty in “The Other America”: The Greatest Health Disparity in the United States?) (Of course, parasites are found particularly in poor, inner city children and adults. But millions are affected, and the percentages are a little startling in such an 'advanced' country.)

Increased Rates of Child Maltreatment in Military Families During Deployments?

(As a former military brat, I thought this deserved a look. Interestingly, they found that there is an increase in child maltreatment by mothers while fathers are deployed. There is, however, not an increase when fathers are the caregivers and the mothers are deployed.) Also, the increase affecte white families, but did not have a similar correlation in Blacks and Hispanics. Sexual abuse did not increase during deployements.)