Calculate poverty in U.S

Background

As your reading and resources have explained, the federal poverty level (FPL) was created in the 1950s by the Social Security Administration. When the FPL was created, the primary expense of a family was food costs; this became the basis of the FPL, and it continues today. The poverty threshold is based on the cost of a minimum food diet in 1963, multiplied by three. Today, food is rarely the largest expense for a family. Housing, transportation, and childcare are often the largest expenses for a working family.

Consider the difference between the expenses and income of a minimum-wage worker; how can the minimum wage still leave a family in poverty? Do you consider the working poor when you think about those in poverty? As social workers, we often work with families in poverty, connecting them to resources to supplement the income of the working poor. Our job is to work with families to provide a basic standard of living that the FPL reflects.

Instructions

For this assignment, you will examine the expenses associated with a typical family of three and compare that with the minimum wage in the United States. After completing this calculation, consider how you, as a professional social worker, can help keep this family out of poverty.

Federal Poverty Level (FPL) exercise

For this assignment:

1. Determine the minimum wage in the United States today that is, the dollar amount per hour. Then, calculate what a worker earning that much per hour could make in a year, based upon a 40-hour week and 52 weeks a year.
2. Refer to the federal poverty guidelines and find the income level needed for a family of three to be considered above the poverty line.
3. Compare the annual earnings of an individual working full time at minimum wage and the poverty line for a family of three. Consider the following: Is only one member in that family capable of working? Is it a single-parent family? If so, will it require one person working more than one job to rise above the poverty line?
4. Use the poverty-line calculation for a family of three, and then, determine whether that income level can provide for all basic needs.

Expenses

• Food (eating in): $295
• Meals (away from home): $103
• Clothing: $100
• Shelter: $470
• Utilities: $245
• Healthcare: $110
• Transportation: $481
• Insurance/Savings: $56
• Entertainment: $107

References: Support your assignment with the scholarly resources included in this week’s course resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including seminal articles, may be included.

Length: 3-4 pages, not including title or reference pages