1. The Roots of Juvenile Delinquency
Poverty and Economics

2. CALIFORNIA CHILD POVERTY BY COUNTY, COUNTY CALIFORNIA POVERTY MEASURE (CPM) RATE FOR CHILDREN
Statewide 24.3% Monterey/San Benito 31.0% Los Angeles 29.5% Santa Barbara 29.1% Orange 27.0% Merced 25.7% Ventura 25.5% San Diego 25.3% Stanislaus 25.1% Fresno 24.9% Lake/Mendocino 24.5% Tulare 24.2% San Francisco 23.9% Santa Cruz 23.9% Riverside 23.1% San Bernardino 21.4% Madera 21.3% Kern 20.6% Humboldt 20.4% Yolo 20.3% San Joaquin 20.2% Santa Clara 20.1% San Mateo 20.1% Napa 20.0% Solano 20.0% Alameda 19.9% Kings 19.9% Sonoma 19.7%
Del Norte / Lassen / Modoc / Siskiyou / Plumas / Nevada / Sierra 19.4%
Sacramento 19.2%
Contra Costa 19.2%
Sutter/Yuba 19.0%
Marin 18.9%
Butte 18.4%

3. Family Poverty In California
Federal Poverty Level for a family of four = $23,000
16% of California Families fall under this definition of poverty
Adding cost of living differences – California’s poverty exceeds 24%

4. Impact of Poverty on Children
More health problems
Less likely to enter school ready to learn
Less likely to graduate from high school
More likely to be involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems

5. Causes of Poverty Lack of employment Inadequate wages
High cost of living
Inadequate housing
Limited transportation
Limited educational opportunities
Limited access to child care
Inadequate social safety net

6. Social Class
A group of individuals or families who occupy a similar position in the economic system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

7. Significance of Social Class
Typically defined by occupation
Determines income and wealth
Determines social status, upward mobility, job stability etc.…
Determines an individuals place within the social hierarchy
Impacts children’s life opportunities and upward mobility

8. Adam Smith: Wealth of Nations
‘Wherever there is great property, there is great inequality. For one rich man, there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the rich supposes the indigence of the many’

9. Economics, Capitalism and Income Inequality
Means of production in the hands of the few (factories, land, buildings, money)
Goal is to produce surplus (profit)
Profit margins are higher if salaries are kept low
Executives and owners strive to keep salaries low to increase profits
Increase profits creates wealth
When profits are not shared among producers (workers), wealth becomes concentrated among the few at the top
Concentration of wealth and obsessive drive for profit leads to worker exploitation and accelerated income inequality

13. Changes in the economy of the decline of high wage manufacturing jobs

14. Major Changes in the U.S. Economy
Technological
globalization of the economy
movement of capital (capital flight)
shift from manufacturing to information and services (from high wage to low)

15. Regulating Income Inequality
Government Policy
Labor Unions/Collective Bargaining

16. Disproportionate Impact of Income Inequality on Communities of Color: The African American Example
African Americans employed in manufacturing after World War II (auto, steel, rubber, chemical)
Unemployment rate in1953: Whites = 4.6% African Americans = 8.5
Unemployment rate in 1964 Whites = 5.9% African Americans = 12.4%
Movement of manufacturing jobs to suburbs leaving Black population in urban settings
Jeremy Rifkin End of Work

17. Poverty Rates
Approximately 14% of Americans live under the official poverty level
Poverty rate for African Americans is 25% in total and 35% for those under 18

18. Family Structure and Poverty National Center for Fathering

19. Other impacts of poverty
Social isolation
Segregation
Destabilized families

20. Poverty and Juvenile Justice
Sturdy Beggars
Pauper classes
Dangerous classes
Undeserving Poor
Under Class

21. Poverty by Race/Ethnicity

22. Poverty and Delinquency
Public assistance economy
Illegal economy

23. Crime and Poverty