The Cost of caring: Public and private costs of childhood disabilities in poor families

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Publication Title

Social Service Review

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Volume

72

Abstract

Children in poor families are at heightened risk for disabilities and chronic health problems, and care for these children can impose substantial costs on families and public programs. Although the prevalence and costs of disabilities among poor children have important policy implications, they have been largely overlooked in research on poverty and welfare and on the costs of childhood disabilities. This article analyzes the prevalence of childhood disabilities and chronic illness among welfare recipient families in California and the probability families caring for these children experience higher out‐of‐pocket costs and material hardship than do other similar families.

Keywords

California; Children with disabilities; Chronically ill children; Medical care; Cost of; Poor families; Public welfare

Disciplines

Family, Life Course, and Society | Health Policy | Medicine and Health Sciences | Social Policy | Social Welfare

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or use interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the article. Publisher copyright policy allows author to archive post-print (author’s final manuscript). When post-print is available or publisher policy changes, the article will be deposited


Search your library

Share

COinS