Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 An Introduction to Human Services: Policy and Practice Inequality §This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Agency Resources §Inequality of wealth and income has been growing in the past two decades. §This has resulted in relatively few people having enormous wealth. §More and more people are having a hard time making ends meet. §The increase in poverty has put great strains on the resources of social agencies.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Women Shortchanged §Women earn about one-fourth less than men. §About half of employed women work in clerical and service jobs, compared to one-sixth of men. §Most of the growth in women’s jobs predicted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is in low-paid jobs.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Welfare Recipients §Most well-paid jobs require higher education. §The Personal Responsibility Act supports no more than one year of higher education, in vocational education. §Most women who leave welfare to get a paid job earn low wages. §Maine uses state funds to support college education for welfare recipients.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Distribution of Wealth §By 2001, the wealthiest 1 percent of U.S. citizens controlled about 38 percent of wealth. §The bottom 80 percent controlled only 17 percent of wealth. §The top 1 percent of stock owners had 48 percent of stock holdings. §The bottom 80 percent had only 4 percent of stock holdings.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Poverty and Infant Mortality §The United States has the highest poverty rate of six industrialized countries. §The infant mortality rate of the U.S., 7.2 per l,000 births, is the highest of 12 industrialized countries. §One in six children were poor in 1999.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Minority Representation §Although only one out of six U.S. citizens is nonwhite, people of color represent one-third of the poor. §Only 27 percent of the U.S. population is under 18, yet children comprise 40 percent of all poor people. §Women account for 51 percent of all people aged 18 and over, but make up 62 percent of those adults who live in poverty.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2002 Poverty Measures §The official U.S. poverty line is outdated and undercounts the true extent of poverty. §People are malnourished at the poverty line. §Many analysts believe that poverty can be measured better by measuring the actual cost of living. §They suggest that the poverty standard should be one-half the median income of the nation.