It is a known fact that lone or solo parents are usually in a difficult condition in raising one’s child for a variety of reasons, one of which is monetary. There are single parents who find somebody to care for their children while they are off to work. However, there are parents who simply cannot work and have to take care of their children, thus, needing more financial support from the government.
In light of these, countries – who can afford to so – provide single parent allowance. As mentioned, this will depend highly on the economic status of a country and its population. For instance, Germany is one of those that provide very helpful financial assistance as single parent benefits to those lone parents. Single parents can avail as much as 14 months allowance since they do not have a partner.
Different countries have different priorities to alleviate poverty and monetary help for unemployed single parents might just be too much to shoulder. Believe it or not, the government, though financially able, spends a lot on these allowances.
This has been the issue in Australia, where the law for granting single parent allowance was amended to give single parents a lower financial support. They were taken off their pension and instead, given the unemployment benefit which is lower. This particular change, applies to parents whose children already turn 8, encouraging parents to eventually join the workforce.
Indeed, despite criticisms received by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, it has saved the Australian government by as much as $728 million for four years. Japan has also adopted a similar reform, such as welfare-to-work policies due to the growing number of single parents, as a result of the increasing number of divorced and unmarried mothers.
Rather than maintaining the provision of high benefit, the government planned and implemented programs that assist these parents to work. One of these is the option of being able to place children in subsidized daycare centers so that parents can comfortably work.
Japan actually patterned this modification from other countries such as the US and UK who started limiting this benefit and helping single parents work as early as in the 90s. On the contrary, this reform misses out other reasons related to unemployment of single parents in Japan such as social class and educational background which significantly affect their chance to be self-sufficient.
If this is an issue in high-income countries, it is all the more a serious concern in low-income countries, who can offer less. There are a lot of people who live below poverty line (not necessarily unemployed) and can die from hunger and this is a more pressing problem to be solved by the government. In fact, other countries do not even have single parent allowances to start with.
There is no doubt that single parent allowance offers immense help and it is fortunate that most countries recognize its positive impact on the lives of these parents. However, it is a painful reality that the government also has limitations because of the high cost of sustaining their needs.
It is but reasonable that policies are being diverted towards helping single parents gain employment. Other countries, however, are too poor to provide similar help though geared towards goals of giving more benefits in the future.
It is important to be reminded though that education is one of the aspects that must be strengthened as this is largely related to unemployment and the underlying cause of continuous poverty of a nation.
Next Article:- How to Claim Single Parent Benefits
In light of these, countries – who can afford to so – provide single parent allowance. As mentioned, this will depend highly on the economic status of a country and its population. For instance, Germany is one of those that provide very helpful financial assistance as single parent benefits to those lone parents. Single parents can avail as much as 14 months allowance since they do not have a partner.
Different countries have different priorities to alleviate poverty and monetary help for unemployed single parents might just be too much to shoulder. Believe it or not, the government, though financially able, spends a lot on these allowances.
This has been the issue in Australia, where the law for granting single parent allowance was amended to give single parents a lower financial support. They were taken off their pension and instead, given the unemployment benefit which is lower. This particular change, applies to parents whose children already turn 8, encouraging parents to eventually join the workforce.
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Rather than maintaining the provision of high benefit, the government planned and implemented programs that assist these parents to work. One of these is the option of being able to place children in subsidized daycare centers so that parents can comfortably work.
Japan actually patterned this modification from other countries such as the US and UK who started limiting this benefit and helping single parents work as early as in the 90s. On the contrary, this reform misses out other reasons related to unemployment of single parents in Japan such as social class and educational background which significantly affect their chance to be self-sufficient.
If this is an issue in high-income countries, it is all the more a serious concern in low-income countries, who can offer less. There are a lot of people who live below poverty line (not necessarily unemployed) and can die from hunger and this is a more pressing problem to be solved by the government. In fact, other countries do not even have single parent allowances to start with.
There is no doubt that single parent allowance offers immense help and it is fortunate that most countries recognize its positive impact on the lives of these parents. However, it is a painful reality that the government also has limitations because of the high cost of sustaining their needs.
It is but reasonable that policies are being diverted towards helping single parents gain employment. Other countries, however, are too poor to provide similar help though geared towards goals of giving more benefits in the future.
It is important to be reminded though that education is one of the aspects that must be strengthened as this is largely related to unemployment and the underlying cause of continuous poverty of a nation.
Next Article:- How to Claim Single Parent Benefits
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