When people talk about people receiving public assistance – food stamps, disability, unemployment payments, and other government help – they often have stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of who those people are and what their lives are like.

The view of some people is affecting policy for the growing ranks of our nation’s poor, says a new report from a joint project from Save the Children and the Center for American Progress. The report compares the U.S. means of measuring economic opportunity and poverty with the experience of other countries, including five peer nations on the same income scale. It shows that people in many peer countries are given assistance as a matter of public policy, and these nations tend to view welfare programs as a short-term term emergency measure.

Many countries like the U.S and spend significantly more taxpayer money on assistance than peer countries. After a few years of assistance, people on welfare in the U.S. have a much more difficult time finding jobs, according to the recent National Survey of Transitional Assistance Providers. These programs lend support either in the form of direct cash transfers or through a variety of in-kind benefits (e.g. food stamps and rent subsidies). Social assistance has been shown to strengthen the purchasing power of the poor and raise their material standards of living.

However, the government does not provide these social assistance programs to ensure marginalized populations are treated fairly, the report says. In fact, U.S. policy determines participation by significant factors, such as the stigma associated with poverty.

Many social programs determine eligibility before a person’s need for support. They include the U.S. Earned Income Tax Credit, which provides an additional tax refund to working families. Similarly, these benefits are made available only to the poor, as with food stamps and Medicaid eligibility. The report finds positive signs.