A Framework for Understanding Poverty aha! Process, Inc., Highlands, TX Ruby K. Payne, Ph.D. 1 Version 5.0

The mission of aha! Process is to positively impact the education and lives of individuals in poverty around the world. 2 Freedom Writers

1. According to the U.S. Census (2000), 58% of all individuals in poverty in the United States are white. 2. The cost per prisoner in the U.S. is equal to the cost of educating a student in public school for one year. 3. The child poverty rate in the U.S. increased 10% between 2000 and Forty-nine percent of all children born in the U.S. are born to families who receive food supplements from WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the federal program. 5. Since 2000, the number of households in the U.S. that are multigenerational increased by 40%. 6. More men from poverty than women from poverty make the transition out of poverty. 7. Fifty-eight percent of children born to parents at the bottom of the income ladder move up. 8. The percentage of individuals in poverty is higher by minority subgroup than by the white subgroup. True or False? 3

T 1. According to the U.S. Census (2000), 58% of all individuals in poverty in the United States are white. F 2. The cost per prisoner in the U.S. is equal to the cost of educating a student in public school for one year. F 3. The child poverty rate in the U.S. increased 10% between 2000 and T 4. Forty-nine percent of all children born in the U.S. are born to families who receive food supplements from WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the federal program. T 5. Since 2000, the number of households in the U.S. that are multigenerational increased by 40%. T 6. More men from poverty than women from poverty make the transition out of poverty. T 7. Fifty-eight percent of children born to parents at the bottom of the income ladder move up. T 8. The percentage of individuals in poverty is higher by minority subgroup than by the white subgroup. True or False? 4

_____ 1. According to the U.S. Census (2000), 58% of all individuals in poverty in the United States are white. True or False T 5

_____ 2. The cost per prisoner in the U.S. is equal to the cost of educating a student in public school for one year. True or False F 6

_____ 3. The child poverty rate in the U.S. increased 10% between 2000 and True or False F 7

_____ 4. Forty-nine percent of all children born in the U.S. are born to families who receive food supplements from WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the federal program. True or False T 8

_____ 5. Since 2000, the number of households in the U.S. that are multigenerational increased by 40%. True or False T 9

_____ 6. More men from poverty than women from poverty make the transition out of poverty. True or False T 10

_____ 7. Fifty-eight percent of children born to parents at the bottom of the income ladder move up. True or False T 11

True or False _____ 8. The percentage of individuals in poverty is higher by minority subgroup than by the white subgroup. T 12

My Personal Experience with Class Place a check next to each of the following that applies to you: NOTE: The purpose of this exercise is simply to illustrate that the broader a person’s experience, the greater the potential understanding of different economic realities. There is no assigned value (good or bad) for any item.  have ever lived in a trailer/mobile home  have ever lived in a home larger than 10,000 square feet  have ever lived in an inner city  have ever traveled to a Third World country  have two friends who grew up in poverty  have flown in an airplane  have taken a vacation more than 50 miles from home and did not stay with a relative  have had private music lessons 13

Developed by Phil DeVol (2006) Mental Models for the Classes 14 Actual responses from people living in poverty.

Mental Model of Middle Class 15 Developed by Phil DeVol (2006)

Developed by Ruby Payne (2005) 16 Mental Model of Wealth

Three things that help one move out of poverty are:  Education  Relationships  Employment 17 Key Point

Federal Law defines HCY Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which includes:  Doubled Up 67%  Hotels / Motels 23%  Shelter / Transitional 10%  Foster Care / Temporary Guardian  Unaccompanied Youth

Key Provisions for Homeless Children Homeless Children and youth have the right to: Immediate Enrollment School Choice: school of origin or school of residence Transportation Services afforded to Title I students Dispute provisions Free Meals

CCS Homeless C & Y : 290 students identified. 247 enrolled.

CCS HCY by Race

CRCT Results

Student Needs Assessment

Tutoring By Grade Level

ActionWhy? 1Build relationships of mutual respect.Motivation for learning. 2Teach students the hidden rules of school.Hidden rules break relationships, and without relationships learning is decreased. 3Analyze the resources of your students, and make interventions based on resources the students have access to. Interventions do not work if they are based on resources that are not available. 4Teach formal register, the language of school and work.To understand written text, which is essential for success at school and work. 5Teach mental models.Mental models translate between the abstract representational world and the sensory concrete world. 6Teach abstract processes.All learning involves what, why, and how. The how piece must be directly taught for tasks to be done. 7Teach students how to plan.To control impulsivity for task completion. 8Use the adult voice and reframing to change behaviors.To maintain relationships and get the appropriate behaviors. 9Understand the family resources and dynamics.To better understand the resources the child has access to and better select interventions. 10Teach how to ask questions.So students can get past the third grade reading level so they can get inside their head and know what they know and what they don’t know. 26

Understand the family resources and dynamics. WHY? To better understand the resources the child has access to and better select interventions. 27

Family Structure vs. Family Function Family structure is the configuration of the relationship. Family function is the extent to which a child is cared for and nurtured. 28

Family function is the extent to which a child (individual under the age of 18) gets these needs met:  Material necessities  Learning  Self-respect  Peer relationships,  Harmony and stability Note. From The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 7th ed., by K. S. Berger, 2007, p Family Structure and Function 29

Two factors interfere with family function:  low income  high conflict Many families experience both—because financial stress increases conflict and vice versa "If economic hardship is ongoing and parents have little education, that increases stress, making adults tense and hostile toward their partners and children." Note. From The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 7th ed., quote by McLanahan in K. S. Berger, 2007, p Family Structure 30

Research by Duncan, Zoil-Guest, and Kalil:  Trying to find not just correlation but causation in outcomes  1,589 individuals  Long-term longitudinal study followed them 20 and 30 years later  Finding: Childhood poverty impaired well- being in adulthood Note. From The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 7th ed., by K. S. Berger, 2007, p Family Structure 31

Research by Boyce and Ellis:  Looked at genetic marker (CHRM2) known to cause behavioral and mood disorders.  Took DNA samples from 400 students in kindergarten and followed them to age 17.  Finding: "The kids at the highest risk of developing bad behaviors in bad homes were the least likely to fail in nurturing homes."  Study named "orchid children" (very sensitive to environment) and "dandelion children" (can thrive in any environment—are resilient).  Children having CHRM2, "the genetic variant that combined with lousy parenting to produce the worst aggression and delinquency also combined with the most attentive parenting to produce the best teenage outcomes." Note. From “On the Trail of the Orchid Child,” by W. Herbert, November/December 2011, Scientific American Mind, pp. 70–71, Family Structure 32

Effects of Father Absence  Sixty-three percent of all youth suicides are from fatherless homes—5 times the average (U.S. Department of Health Census)  Ninety percent of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes—32 times the average (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)  Eighty-five percent of all children who show behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes—20 times the average (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Family Structure 33

Effects of Father Absence (continued)  Seventy-one percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes—9 times the average (National Principals Association Report)  Seventy percent of youths in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes—9 times the average (U.S. Department of Justice)  Eighty-five percent of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes—20 times the average (Fulton County Georgia, Texas Department of Corrections) Family Structure 34

Note: Estimated from 2010 data in U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract and Current Population Reports: America’s Families and Living Arrangements, Note. Adapted from The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 8th ed., by K. S. Bueger, Family structure: two-parent families Percentage of U.S. 6- to 11-year- olds in each type Nuclear family 54% Stepparent 9% Adoptive family 2% Grandparents alone 2% Two same-sex parents <1% 35

Note: Estimated from 2010 data in U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract and Current Population Reports: America’s Families and Living Arrangements, Note: Adapted from The Developing Person Through the Life Span, 8th ed., by K. S. Berger, Family structure: single-parent families Percentage of U.S. 6- to 11-year- olds in each type Single mother (never married) 10% Single mother (divorced, separated or widowed) 13% Grandparent alone 1% Single father 4%

Family Structure CS

Example #1 Family Structure 38

Family Structure Example #2 39

Family Structure In generational poverty, marriage and divorce in a legal court are only important if there is property or children. Male/female relationships are not always formalized. The mother is the center of the family. Relationships and allegiances change frequently.

41 At your table, discuss these questions: 1.Who helped you with your homework? 2.Whom did you care about most? Who cared about you? 3.Were relationships competitive? Cooperative? Both? 4.Whom did you trust? 5.What did you think about authority? 6.What did you learn about relationships? Personal Family Structure

Ruby Payne’s Key Points  Poverty is relative (in comparison to others) and is experienced on a very personal level.  Generational and situational poverty are different.  Most schools and businesses operate from middle-class norms and values.  Individuals bring with them hidden rules of the class in which they were raised. (Hidden rules are not articulated but are equated with intelligence.)  To move from poverty to middle class, one must give up relationships for achievement.

Ruby Payne’s Key Points (2)  Four reasons one leaves poverty are: Too painful to stay; Vision or goal; Key relationship; Special talent/skill.  To survive in poverty, one must rely upon nonverbal, sensory, and reactive skills.  To survive in school or at work, one must use verbal, abstract, and proactive skills.  We can neither excuse nor scold students. We must teach our students.

Migrant Student Definition A child younger than 22 who has not graduated from high school or does not hold a GED; and The child or parent is a migrant agricultural worker or a migrant fisher; and The child has moved within the preceding 36 months in order to obtain or seek employment or to accompany or join a parent, spouse, or guardian to obtain or seek, temporary or seasonal employment in qualifying agricultural or fishing work; and Such employment is a principal means of livelihood; and The child has moved from one school district to another.