How we make it tough for children to grow out of poverty

In our wider society, children often stay in the family household past the age of 18. Many do so while they pursue further education and training. Others stay at home while they get their first full-time work experience, pay off student loans, and save for their own place. In middle class society, adulthood is measured by a person’s readiness to be independent of the family, usually after formal education has ended and working income is stable.

This is very different from what happens to children in families receiving social assistance. When they reach 18, they are no longer considered children. They stop receiving social assistance as part of the family.They can only apply for assistance in their own right if they are no longer dependent on the family. In most cases, that means they must move out of the family home. Public housing is provided to families on the basis of a similar definition of adulthood. Once a child turns 18 and moves out, the “rental unit” (their home)can be deemed too large. The public housing landlord may evict a family if the size of the rental unit does not conform to the “benefit unit” (the family).

Income that a child receives from student loans and grants and Millennium scholarships can also reduce social assistance payments and have an impact on rental charges.These misdirected social policies perpetuate poverty and dependence into the next generation. Forcing undereducated 18 year olds into the working world and out of the family home puts them at risk for homelessness. It also limits their choices in a way that can make dishonest behaviour more attractive

'Why is it so tough to get ahead? How our tangled social programs pathologize the transition to self-reliance'. John Stapleton November 2007