Race, class and social status1

Race, Class and Social StatusImpact on children & families

Macheo Payne

Lincoln Child Center

February 2010

IntroductionsWho is in the room?

• Name?

• Role at Lincoln?

• How long at Lincoln?

• What social class were you brought up in?

• If you were an animal, which animal would you be?

Training Goals

• Identify & think about your socioeconomic status, class, etc.

• Connect your upbringing & SES to your current views and values.

• Think & discuss how your current SES & values are imposed and impact the clients & families.

Lincoln Client Demographics

• Primarily African American & Latino

• Primarily Alameda County residents

• Primarily from low income households (under $36,000 yearly household income)

Video Clip

• Watch Hood 2 Hood Video.

• Take notes on what you observe.

• What do you see happening objectively?

• Notice details of people and their surroundings.

Strength-Based

• Name some of the strengths that the people in the video expressed or exhibited?– Innovative– Resilient– Confident – Teamwork– Able to handle multiple tasks– Social capital

21st Century Competencies

• Corresponding skill sets and individual resilient behaviors• 21st century skill set Cultural Resiliency competencies

• Critical Analysis Acculturation

• Adaptability and Agility Navigation of borders

• Teamwork Social Capital

• Multi/Bilingual Inter/Intra cultural communication

• Innovation and Imagination Self-expression

SES Study

• “A study published in the December 2008 journal of Psychological Science found that children of parents with a high socioeconomic status tended to express more "disengagement" behaviors than their less fortunate peers. In this context, disengagement behaviors represents actions such as fidgeting with other objects and drawing pictures while being addressed. Other participants born into less favored circumstances tended to make more eye contact, head nods and signs of happiness when put into an interactive social environment. Authors hypothesize that the more fortuitous peers felt less inclined to gain rapport with their group because they saw no need for their assistance in the future.”

Socioeconomic Factors

• Social• Economic• Educational

Social Class

• Social class is primarily defined by the economic and educational level of the household.

• Social class is divided into categories that are heirarchical with the upper class at the top and the poverty class at the bottom.

• Poor people are judged negatively for having low or no morals or values.

Value Systems

• What are your values?

• Family, Education, Religion, “be a good person”, Justice, Fairness, etc.

Low SES Value System

• Survival and Power are explicit values, expressed through the accumulation of money and respect

• Family and Justice are also guiding values expressed through “affiliation” and following the “code of the streets” (I.e. no snitching)

Power&

Respect

Class Value System

• Middle class values include education, homeownership, working toward goals, accumulation of wealth

• Poverty class values include survival, “respect”, accumulation of “things”

Societal Value SystemReflected on the Macro: International level

• Country with the most wealth, holds the most power & influence.

• The country with the biggest weapons use war or the threat of war to control and dominate.

• Justified as a civilized and in the interest of the common good.

Power&

Influence(respect)

“Check Your Lens”

• Complete the Wheel of SES Status

• How many “petals” are you in a position of privilege?

• How many “petals” represent an oppressed status?

• What did you notice or realize about your status?

Background

1. Lincoln’s client population is impacted by a high level of poverty and low educational attainment.

2. The result of poverty and low education is poor health outcomes.

3. This population is devastated by community and family violence.

Impact

• Therefore, the impact of socioeconomic factors is the single most critical factor in the clients life.

• Environmental factors heavily influence a persons level of access to opportunities in society

Inheritance

• The education of any clients parents is the highest predictor of what the highest educational level of the child will be. The economic situation of the family, is the highest indicator of the future economic level the child will reach as an adult.

SES DiagnosticRaise your hand if…

• You have graduated from college

• You grew up with 2 parents in your life

• You went to summer camps or afterschool programs

• You have traveled out of the country for vacation

• You got an allowance growing up

• Your parents had a flexible work schedule

• Your parents regularly helped you with your homework

• Your parents own their home

Raise your hand if…

• You moved more than twice in your childhood

• You came home before your parents (latch key kid)

• Your parents didn’t attend college

• Your parents were ever unemployed

• You witnessed violence in your home or neighborhood

• You had a family member that abused alcohol or drugs

• Someone smoked cigarettes in the house

• You ever didn’t have enough food to eat

• You were ever on general assistance (WIC, welfare, food stamps, unemployment, etc.)

• You or someone in your family was ever discriminated against because of their race, gender, or ethnicity

Equal Opportunity?

Let’s pretend that the playing field is level

Finish Line

Upper class

Starting Line Middle Class

Lower class

The Work

• Your social class & status has everything to do with how you provide service to the client.

• Your values and beliefs are imposed upon clients without you articulating them or acting on them.

• Your socioeconomic status impacts the client

Why do you do this work?

• Race or class guilt?• You have something to give to the clients that they

don’t have?• This is your best option for a career?• You want to help people?• You learn from doing this work, from the clients?• You gain an understanding about people and

yourself?

Questions?

• Thank You for your participation!