A Portrait of Poor Children in America

1. A Portrait of Poor Children in America September 27, 2013

2. Child Poverty in America 2012 • More than one in five children in America – 16.1 million – were poor in 2012, essentially unchanged from 2011. • Children remain the poorest age group in the country. Nearly 22 percent of children were poor in 2012, compared to 13.7 percent of people ages 18-64 and 9.1 percent of people ages 65 and older. • The child poverty rate is also 21 percent higher than before the Great Recession. In 2012 there were 2.75 million more children living in poverty than there were in 2007.

3. Extreme Child Poverty in America 2012 • Over seven million children – nearly one in ten – lived in extreme poverty in 2012. • The number of children living in extreme poverty: 7,143,000 or 9.7 percent. • Compared to other age groups, children were three-and-a-half times more likely than people ages 65 and older and one-and-a-half times more likely than people ages 18-64 to live in extreme poverty.

4. Young Children • The youngest children are most at risk of being poor. In 2012, one in four infants, toddlers and preschoolers were poor. • The number of children under five living in poverty: 4,953,000 or 25.1 percent. • One in eight children under five were living in extreme poverty (12.2 percent).

5. Family Characteristics • Nearly two-thirds of all poor children – approximately 10 million – lived in single-parent families, with the majority in single-mother households. • Nearly two-thirds of poor families with children (4.7 million or 65.9%) had at least one working family member.

6. Children of Color • Although White children were the second largest group of poor children, children of color continue to suffer disproportionately from poverty, with the youngest children of color most at risk of being poor. • More than two out of five Black children under age five were poor (42.5 percent); nearly one in four were extremely poor (23 percent).

7. Trends in Poverty • Child poverty has risen nearly every year over the last decade. After dropping 27 percent between 1992 and 2000, the child poverty rate increased by 34.6 percent between 2000 and 2012. • Our youngest children continue to be most at-risk of being poor: the child poverty rate for children under six* increased by 37 percent between 2000 and 2012.

8. How do states compare? • Across the states, child poverty rates ranged from 13.2 percent in North Dakota to 34.7 percent in Mississippi. • Only two states (Texas and Illinois) experienced significant decreases from 2011. Child poverty rates actually increased in three states (New Hampshire, Mississippi and California)

9. What impact does poverty have on children? Poor children lag behind their peers in many ways beyond income including: • They are less healthy, • Trail in emotional and intellectual development, • Are less likely to graduate from high school, and • Are likely to become the poor parents of the future.

10. CDF’s vision to end child poverty We must invest in: • High quality education for every child, including early care and education, • Livable wages for families, • Income safety nets like job training and job creation, the Earned Income and Child Tax Credits, and • Work supports like child care and health coverage. See more at: http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/ending-child-poverty/#sthash.sIbMY4MB.dpuf

11. For more information Children’s Defense Fund of New York www.cdfny.org Children’s Defense Fund National Office www.childrensdefense.org Patti Banghart Project Director, Early Childhood Initiatives pbanghart@cdfny.org