Child Well-Being: History, Poverty, and Policies That Make a Difference

Children and youth in the U.S. face higher rates of poverty and other types of disadvantage than their contemporaries in other developed nations. Nevertheless, the U.S. has a robust ensemble of programs and policies that seek to mitigate the deprivation and material hardship experienced by American children and youth. This module connects to the Administration on Children and Families (ACF) emphasis on child well-being and is meant to strengthen critical knowledge among individuals and professionals involved in the child welfare system. The course begins with a historical background on efforts to address basic needs and household stability among children and youth, and describes the major features of anti-hunger, health, and income maintenance programs that assist low-income households with children.

At the conclusion of this video/graphic course, participants will be able to:

  1. Understand historical efforts to address the basic needs of children.
  2. Recognize the prevalence of and evaluate the ways in which poverty and other forms of hardship impact the lives of children and youth.
  3. Understand the basic features of major U.S. safety net programs that promote the health and well-being of low-income families with children.
  4. Evaluate the strengths and limits of major safety net programs designed to promote child well-being.


Estimated Time to Complete video series: Up to 6 hours (6 CE credits)

Note: All course content must be viewed to the end and a brief evaluation completed before the CE certificate can be issued.

Price: $60

Course Curriculum

  • 1

    New Chapter

    • Riding on the Orphan Train

    • Hull House & The Settlement Home Movement

    • Saving Babies: The Early Years of the Children's Bureau

    • Poverty Measures & Basic Needs

    • Poverty in Comparative Perspective

    • More Than a Statistic: The Pain of Poverty

    • The Household PULSE Survey

    • The CARES Act and Poverty Early in the Covid-19 Pandemic

    • The EITC: Anti-Poverty Rock Star

    • How the EITC Works

    • SNAP: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

    • SNAP for Social Work Practice

    • Hunger & Food Insecurity

    • WIC Essentials

    • Strengths and Weaknesses of WIC

    • Covid, Hunger & SNAP

    • Impact of Incarceration on Children & Families

    • Evaluation

About the instructor

Founder, OfCourse!

Miguel Ferguson

Hello, my name is Miguel Ferguson. My teaching career began at the high school level but for the last 20 years I have taught courses in Social Welfare Policy, Poverty, and Social Justice in leading schools of social work. I founded OfCourse! to make dynamic information on these topics accessible to students and busy instructors. OfCourse! content is engaging and up to date and each lesson comes with "Interactives" (drag-and-drop, fill-in-the-blank, drop-down menu choices, etc). OfCourse! materials are fun and engaging and designed to help busy teachers inform and inspire students with interactive and easy-to-use content. Dr. Ferguson is also the author of two popular books on the intersection of policy and community change ("Caught in the Storm" and "Navigating Policy & Practice in the Great Recession") and a graphic novel on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War ("¡Brigadistas!").