51-year-old Japanese widow Satomi Sato works two low-wage jobs to support herself and daughter but barely makes ends meet. Photo by Ko Sasaki for New York Times.

Japan last fall announced its official poverty line for the first time.

The move was a surprise because many Japanese claim they live in a homogenous, mostly middle class society that does not have stark divisions between rich and poor, according to this New York Times article.

In fact Japan, which sunk into economic stagnation years ago, has a 15.7 percent poverty rate. That is just below 17.1 percent in the United States.

Some social workers are concerned poor people who cannot afford to educate their children in Japan’s highly competitive educational system will pass their plight on to the next generation.

“We are at risk of creating a chronic underclass,” said Toshihiko Kudo, a board member of Ashinaga, a nonprofit group based in Tokyo that helps poor children and orphans.

Photo courtesy of Employment Practices Risk Management Association.

Social workers have a reputation for helping the poor and oppressed, but Chicago social worker Jinnie English MSW has found an unusual niche, according to this item in the Utne Reader spirituality blog.

English serves middle-class clients who grew up in poverty. Despite outward signs of success, many still deal with the psychological impact of their hardscrabble upbringing, she said. Many are also people of color, English said.

 English can relate because her family was sometimes on welfare while she was g rowing up. “I still feel the shame,” she said.

The current recession is proving just how distressed the system is, the writers said. More families are relying on unemployment insurance and food stamps to ride out the economic storm because TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), the new name for welfare, is no longer as available.

The authors wrote:

“Why the huge difference between unemployment insurance and food stamp usage and welfare caseloads? People have a legal right to food stamps if they meet the statutory requirements, but since 1996 there has been no legal right to cash assistance. And so welfare, generally speaking, has not cushioned the impact of the recession.”

For more information on the National Association of Social Workers’ position on this welfare and other issues read “Promoting Economic Security Through Social Welfare Legislation,” policy briefs prepared by NASW’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Economic Security. And to find out what legislation NASW is currently pushing visit its Advocacy Web page.

Cheers to The State newspaper in South Carolina for its profile of Alma Puente-Ruiz, a social worker who created a program to help immigrants from Latin America and other parts of the world navigate American culture. The article demonstrates how life-changing social work can be. Puente-Ruiz, who immigrated from Mexico, started the program after she noticed local immigrant women and children were mired in poverty and living in run-down trailers.

“I concentrate on how I can help them and get their kids out of these places,” she said. “I don’t discuss politics. I don’t discuss their legal issues.”

Also visit the NASW’s “Help Starts Here” section on Kids and Families.

photo courtesy of www.theendofpoverty.com

Is poverty man-made and can it be eradicated? A new documentary “The End of Poverty?,” examines these issues and others. Award-winning director Phillipe Diaz directed the film and actor Martin Sheen narrates it. To see clips from the film click here. And to find showings near you go here.

QUESTION: From a social worker standpoint how can poverty be eliminated in the United States? Leave a response below.