While the United States may be one of the world’s wealthiest nations, teens today face myriad of social, personal, educational and financial problems that impede their development, such as Child poverty, inadequate educational attainment, inadequate health care, parental separation and divorce, foster care system, abuse and neglect, and coping with the modern world. (Siegel p.3)
As our book discuss child poverty escalated rapidly since the 2000’s, poverty has risen for every age , gender, and race/ethnic group. With the most severe living among poverty the nation’s youngest families (adults under 30) and even more with those families who have more than one child living in the home.(Siegel p4). Approximately 14 – 16 million children in America
…show more content…
Growing up in happy home protects children from mental, physical, educational, and social problems. Although 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States Divorce leaving children stuck in the middle. (Siegel p.7) Although parental separation and divorce may not seem to be a big deal to some, to others it can lead to big effects of children such as the foster care …show more content…
Case workers find that up to 700,000 children are legally abused. As our book informs us according to most states and federal laws, child abuse is defined and any act (or failure to act) by a parent or caregiver who is responsible for the child’s welfare that results in imminent risk or serious harm to a child’s health and welfare due to physical, emotional or sexual abuse.(Siegel p.9) There are enormous social and economic cost associated with child abuse and neglect. Some are financial and directly related to maltreatment such as hospitalization and medical treatment. Where others are emotional as when authorities are forced to remove children from their home and place them in foster care. Other costs are not immediate and may develop when the abused enters teenage years, such as lower academic achievement, substance abuse, mental health issues and criminality.(Siegel p9) American youths face many problems in today’s society starting at a young