Christian Adoption Service

Welfare… Some facts

New policies have been implemented to make people less dependent on welfare. Some of the current policies include:

• A time limit to receive assistance (maximum period to receive some benefits in a lifetime is 60 months)
• Anyone under 18 cannot receive assistance for their child. A parent or guardian has to be a payee of the check and the income of the teen’s parents is considered when determining if a teen’s child is eligible for assistance. A teen must remain in school to be eligible for assistance.
• If over 18: Once applying for assistance, diligent efforts must be shown that the mother is looking for employment before and during the time assistance is being received.
• Other agencies (such as the Housing Authority) that have traditionally helped people simply because they live in poverty have joined in the effort to make people receiving services and assistance more accountable. Some of these agencies now have new policies such as requiring unemployed tenets to do volunteer work.

Pregnant? Questions to Consider

• If I was the child and not the mother, what would I want my life to be like?
• Have I ever taken care of children?
• Do I like being around children?
• Am I ready to be a mother 24/7?
• Can I handle dirty diapers, throw-up, and staying up all night with a sick child?
• Do I have transportation? How will I get a child to the doctor? How will I get a sick child home from school?
• What do I want my life to be like in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? How will a child affect how I want my life to turn out?
• Do I want to continue my education? College? Do I want my child to go to college?
• Who helps support me?
• Are fathers important in the life of a child?
• Do I like the neighborhood that I currently live in? If not, what will it take to move?
• How will I support my baby?
• What job skills do I have? How can I get a job? How much can I expect to make at a job? Will my check cover my expenses?
• What are the expenses involved in raising a child?
• If I will depend on welfare, what will I do to make money long term?
• Would I consider adoption if I knew my baby’s needs would be met without worry?
• Would I consider adoption if I could have a relationship and ongoing contact with my child?
• What is in the best interest of my child?

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Preparing for the Birth of your Newborn

• What store did you shop at (Target, Babies R Us, Wal-Mart)?
• What is the price total of the items that you will need to start out with?
• How many of these items do you already have?

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Expenses of raising a child

Diapers

The average baby is in diapers between two to three years and uses between 7,000 to 10,000 diapers. How much does this equal for the average parent? Here’s the math: On average, Walmart’s brand of diapers costs $.21 according to Consumer Reports. Let’s say a baby uses approximately 8,500 diapers. 8,500 diapers X $.21=$1,785.00. That is nearly $75.00 per month if a child stays in diapers for two years.

Food

Varies, but the older the children get the more expensive the food!

Daycare

Average annual cost of daycare in North Carolina is nearly $7,000 for an infant and nearly $6,000 for a child four years old. Social Services has an assistance program in place, however, there is a long list of families waiting for assistance. This program is currently experiencing serious cut backs for funding. At this time, nearly 35,000 children are waiting across the State for daycare assistance.

CONGRATS! You no longer have costs with raising a preschooler, but what about school aged children? Costs to consider when your child goes to school: projects, school pictures, yearbooks, field trips, band instruments, extracurricular activities, sports, lunch, school clothes, supplies…

Okay, so it’s not directly associated with parenting, but….are you willing to go without a manicure, pedicure, hair salon visits, the newest and best clothes, cell phones, etc.

Formula: (If not eligible for WIC) Artifical Baby Milk:*

* Based on Ross Laboratory’s estimate of 14,500 ounces of formula needed per year. Includes needed amount for growth and waste. August, 1998 Sunnyvale Lucky/Savon market prices.

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The Father Factor

• Children in father-absent homes are 5x more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared with 38.4% of children in female-householder families.
• Even after controlling for income, youth in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families.
• Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.
• Studies show that students from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.
• Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage when both parents have less than a high school degree.
• Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional or educational neglect. An analysis of child abuse cases in a nationally representative sample of 42 countries found that children from single-parent families are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents.
• Fatherless children are twice as likely to repeat a grade and/or drop out of school.
• A study of 3,400 middle schoolers indicated that not living with both biological parents quadruples the risk of emotional problems in students.

From: www.fatherhood.org/father_factor.asp

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