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Children and Poverty

Children and Poverty. Introduction to Family Studies. Thinking about Poverty. What percentage of the population is poor? What percentage of children are poor ? What is percent of single-parent families What are poor children’s lives like?. Terminology.

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Children and Poverty

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  1. Children and Poverty Introduction to Family Studies

  2. Thinking about Poverty • What percentage of the population is poor? • What percentage of children are poor? • What is percent of single-parent families • What are poor children’s lives like?

  3. Terminology • Poverty: Income below the federal poverty level (FPL) • $$22,050 per year for a family of four • Low-income: Income below 200 percent of the 2010 federal poverty level (FPL) • $44,100 per year for a family of four Source: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/eco1.asp

  4. Child Poverty • How many children live in poverty? • Children represent a disproportionate share of the poor in the United States • This means children are over-represented among the poor • While 25 percent of the total populationare children • 44 percent of the poor population are children • In 2010, 15.45 million children, or 22 percent, were living below poverty.

  5. Child Poverty Rates in the U.S. from 2006-1010 Source: Kids Count retrieved from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/NationalProfile.aspx?cat=16&group=Category&loc=1&dt=1%2c3%2c2%2c4

  6. Poverty rates vary by age

  7. Geography of Child Poverty • http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Map.aspx?loct=2&map_colors=Solid&dtm=322&ind=43&tf=133 • Other data sources: • http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/

  8. Child Poverty varies by race and ethnicity • The poverty rate for children also varies substantially by race and Hispanic origin, as shown in the table below • Children Under 18 Living in Poverty, 2008 • All children under 18 • 15, 451,000 or 20.7 % • White only, non-Hispanic 4, 850,000 or 11.9% • Black: 4,480,000 or 35.4 % • Hispanic: 5,610,00 or 33.1 % • Asian: 531,000 or 13.3 % SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009, Report P60, n. 238, Table B-2, pp. 62-7.

  9. Child Poverty and Race/Ethnicity • Latino/a and African American children are disproportionately low income. • Whites comprise the largest group of low-income children.

  10. Percent of Single-parent Families by Race/ethnicity Source: Kids Count retreived from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=54

  11. Poverty varies by family structure • Two-parent families living below poverty • 8 % • Single-parent families living below poverty • 36 % • More than one third of single parent families live below poverty

  12. Effects of Poverty on Children • Health outcomes • Mortality • Low birth weight • Health problems • Abuse • Educational outcomes • High drop out rate • Underfunded schools

  13. Effects of Poverty on Children • Health outcomes • Low birth weight • Defined as a live birth weighing less than 5.5 pounds. • 8.2 % • Child abuse and neglect • Defined as children who have been confirmed by child abuse services as victims of maltreatment • 9 %

  14. Effects of Poverty on Children • Educational Outcomes • High drop out rate • Defined as: Teens from age 16 – 19 not in high school and not h.s. graduates • 6 % Source: Kids Count, retreived from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=6221

  15. Kidscount website • What are poverty rates for Children in New Jersey? • http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/StateLanding.aspx?state=NJ

  16. There Are No Children Here • The Henry Horner Homes were not always bad • In the 1960s there were groups like girl scouts who met regularly • And the crime rate was lower • But during the 1970s and 1980s drug and gang activity increased

  17. There Are No Children Here • The local Chicago government officials and the Chicago Housing Authority never wanted the Henry Horner Homes to be built in the first place • The buildings were not well funded and were not well built • So they never put much money into them, even from the beginning • Later, in the 1980s, findings of a housing authority tour of the facilities revealing appalling conditions and history of neglect of Chicago’s public housing

  18. There Are No Children Here • In Philadelphia, and Newark -- high-rise public housing is being replaced by: • two-story, low density townhouses • Section 8 vouchers • Strategies to increase home ownership: • targeted at low to moderate income who can afford to pay a mortgage, but cannot get together enough $$ for a down payment & closing costs

  19. Summary • For a rich nation, the U.S. has high rates of child poverty • Children are more likely to be in poverty than adults and the aged (+65 years of age) • Child poverty varies by race and ethnicity

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