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Poverty Of Single Mothers

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The economic status of single parent households with children under the age of 18 is a critical societal need. In fact, single mothers are more likely to be in poverty than single fathers. Dr. Carol Greinder of John Hopkins School of Medicine, recently shared statistical findings that of the nearly 10 million single mother households the median income was roughly $26,000 which equates to less than one third the income of a married couple (Krawczyk, 2017). The barriers that produce low incomes for single mothers include factors such as education, low work experience, health issues, lack of transportation and child care. Many studies concluded that most welfare recipients lacked the education skill set required by most employers. Furthermore, rural and inner city areas often do not have enough employment opportunities that require little skill set. Finally, single mothers were unable to focus on employment due to the lack of affordable housing available in communities where job availability is higher. With the lack of employment opportunities for single mothers, we now have to look at redefining the earning capacity by giving them an opportunity to gain critical skills for better employment, which will then offer them the ability to live a healthier lifestyle out of poverty.
Redefining Single Mothers Earning Capacity
Based on human capital theory, a recent study revealed that a contributing factor to the disparity of single mother poverty is that single mothers were

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