Julia constantly struggled with the childcare arrangements for her daughter Jacqueline. It is a point to note that the hardships she faced are many of the same obstacles that other women face in finding adequate care for their children when their income is low.
Even though Julia was making a concerted effort to return to school so she could hopefully get a better job and support her family, she constantly struggled with finding and affording childcare.
Initially, Julia was able to rely on her children’s father. She then ended her relationship with him and him to leave. She was then faced with having to turn to family to help her care for her children. Julia turned to her sister for help, and her sister moved in to watch the children while Julia went to school. However, this only lasted for a short period until her sister found a job. Julia was forced to drop out of school to find a job to support her family.
Luckily, Julia was able to benefit from the Welfare to Work Program. This program assisted Julia in securing work internships that could possibly translate into full-time jobs, and one of the greatest benefits of this program was a childcare subsidy, which Julia took full advantage of.
Once her daughter Jacqueline was a year old, Julia was able to find consistent family-care for two years with the childcare subsidies from Welfare to Work. But, once Julia found a full time job, she could not afford the continuation of the childcare because her public assistance was cut, and she did not earn enough to afford the difference in cost.
Julia not only faced obstacles when it came to finding care for Jacqueline. She also faced obstacles with employment. Once she found a steady job, she would lose subsidies that provided for Jacqueline’s childcare and would have to work longer hours to afford it. If she couldn’t find affordable care, she would have to quit her job to care for Jacqueline herself, meaning no income and the need to rely on welfare programs.
The series of video clips from “7 Days at the Minimum Wage” showed the difficulty of living and working at, or close to, minimum wage. All of the subjects interviewed talked about having to work long hours or multiple jobs and feeling like they could never get ahead on financial responsibilities. They all felt helpless having to live from paycheck-to-paycheck without benefits like paid leave and healthcare.
About Me
- Kasey
- I will be graduating from Arizona State University in December. Even though I feel like I have made the most of my college career, I am scared about what the future holds for me. Graduate studies are in my future, but what I ultimately want to do with my life, well, that is in limbo. I want to make a difference. I want to be challenged and challenge other people. I am an alumni of Omega Phi Alpha, National Service Sorority. I served as president in my final year, and it was definitely a challenge. Now, I am helping to found an organization on campus called Running Start, which is a non-profit geared toward getting young women interested in running for political office.
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