ABSTRACT
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.
Nelson Mandela
Children are the world’s most valuable resources and its best hope for the future. John F. Kennedy
Let us put our minds together and see what kind of life we can make for our children. Sitting Bull
W HEN WE SEARCH FOR STRENGTHS AND RESOURCES in the family and community, our attention turns naturally to children. We know that children can thrive if they have adequate food, shelter, education, health care, and suffi cient adult guidance. Many adults devote their lives to helping children build on their strengths, thus enhancing both the present and the future of our families and communities. Nevertheless, in the U.S., one in fi ve children under age 18 is growing up in poverty (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, 2012). Poor children eat less nutritious meals, often live in unsafe homes, and are more likely to be victims of abuse and neglect. They are less healthy and less successful in school or attend inferior schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and they are three times more likely to die in childhood. Further, children who live in poverty face a signifi cant chance of remaining in poverty throughout their lives. Forty-two percent of children whose families live in the bottom fi fth of the income distribution will continue to remain in the bottom fi fth once they become adults (Isaacs, 2007). Large health disparities are clear for children raised in poverty and for children of color, and these health differences, as well as other adverse events in childhood, may translate into increased disability and earlier deaths in adulthood. In addition, more than 400,000 children currently are in foster care (Children’s Bureau, 2012). On a regular basis, several million children between the
ages of 5 and 14 care for themselves without any adult supervision, creating a daily climate of risk. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people of 15 to 24 years of age. The fi rst and second causes of death are accidents (primarily automobile) and homicide (CDC, 2010).
