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Child Poverty in Minnesota

This report discusses the trends, consequences, and opportunities related to child poverty in Minnesota. It provides data on the well-being of Minnesota's children and families and suggestions for action on their behalf.

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Child Poverty in Minnesota

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  1. Child Poverty in Minnesota Trends, Consequences, and Opportunities Andi Egbert, Research Director, Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota Legislative Commission to End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020 September 5, 2007

  2. Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota • Nonpartisan, nonprofit organization • CDF does not seek nor accept any government funds • MN is one of 12 state and regional offices • The mission of the Children’s Defense Fund is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

  3. CDF Minnesota Initiatives Child advocacy: Legislative and grassroots Research: Analysis and information regarding child and family well-being Outreach: Helping eligible families access public benefits and claim tax credits

  4. What is KIDS COUNT? A national and state-by-state effort to track the well-being of children, based upon reliable national and state-level data sources Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation CDF Minnesota is the Minnesota KIDS COUNT grantee. We provide: State-level and county-by-county data on the well-being of Minnesota's children and families An annual data book and other periodical reports to provide a statistical profile of Minnesota's children and suggestions for action on their behalf

  5. Presentation Overview • Definitions of poverty • Who are Minnesota’s poor children and families? • Trends in child, family poverty • Adverse effects of poverty for children and society • Education risks • Health and developmental risks • Economic impacts • Alleviating poverty: outcomes and opportunities • Questions

  6. Data and Definitions Data Sources: • State-level data from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Surveys (ACS), 2000-2006 • No group quarters in pre-2006 surveys: No foster, homeless, institutionalized children • County-level data from the Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE), 2000-2004 • Children defined as those under age 18 • Families defined as households with at least one child present

  7. Defining Child Poverty • “Official poverty” • Family income below the federal poverty threshold • Less than 100% poverty • About $20,500 for a family of 4 in 2006 • “Extreme poverty” • Less than 50% poverty • Annual income of less than half of poverty threshold, or $10,250 for a family of 4

  8. Defining Child Poverty • “Low-income” poverty • Less than 200% poverty threshold • Annual income below $41,000 for family of 4 • Families need more than twice poverty level to meet basic needs including housing, child care, food, and health insurance • 2/3rds of low-income children live in families that pay more than 30% of income for housing costs (2005) • Vulnerable families who experience eviction, utilities shutoffs, severe debt, hunger, unstable child care arrangements, foregone medical care • With few assets, they are often one crisis away from becoming officially poor • Less likely to qualify for public programs to assist Source: National Center for Children in Poverty

  9. Who Are Minnesota’s Families in Poverty? In 2006, there were 86,000 families in poverty in Minnesota (6.5% of families) Majority are working • Nearly 3/4ths of families in poverty (63,700) have one or more workers in the family • About 1 in 5 families in poverty have 2 or more workers More likely to be headed by an unmarried parent • 34% of families in poverty have married parents • 52% unmarried female-headed households • 14% unmarried male-headed households

  10. Who Are Minnesota’s Children in Poverty? In 2006, there were 152,000 children in poverty in Minnesota More than half are white children

  11. Who Are Minnesota’s Children in Poverty? But, children of color have a greater chance of growing up in poverty

  12. Who Are Minnesota’s Children in Poverty? Almost 1/3rd of poor children are under age 5 • 50,300 children age 0-4 in poverty • Poverty rate for children age 0-4 is 14.6%, compared to 12.2% for all children • Critical developmental window • Experiencing poverty in early childhood, or experiencing persistent poverty, is most harmful to children Most children in poverty are U.S. born, but immigrant children have higher poverty rates • 25% of MN’s immigrant children live in poverty, compared to 10% of children who are U.S. born

  13. Who Are Minnesota’s Children in Poverty? Many poor children live in rural areas • About half of state’s children in poverty live in Greater Minnesota • The 8 counties with the highest child poverty rates are rural:

  14. 2004 Child Poverty Rates, by County Shown in Quartiles

  15. Trends in Child Poverty

  16. Children Are The Most Likely Group To Live In Poverty Nationally • On August 28, Census Bureau released new data showing overall poverty rate declined for the first time in a decade, to 12.3 % in 2006 • Poverty among those 65+ down to 9.4% • Child poverty rate remained statistically unchanged at 17.4% • Children are the most likely group of Americans to live in poverty • Youngest children (0-4) have the very highest rates

  17. Statewide Trends, 2000-2006:Child Poverty Rising • In Minnesota since 2000 • Child poverty rate increased 35% • Estimated 38,000 more children in poverty • Extreme poverty rate doubled • Estimated 31,000 more children in extreme poverty • Rates accelerating faster than national increases • Since 2003 especially, more children and families falling to lower rungs of economic ladder

  18. MN Children in PovertyLess than 100% Poverty, or $20,500 for 2 parents and 2 children in 2006

  19. MN Children in Extreme Poverty Less than 50% Poverty, or $10,250 for 2 parents and 2 children in 2006

  20. MN Low-income Children Less than 200% Poverty, or $41,000 for 2 parents and 2 children in 2006

  21. Adverse Effects of Child Poverty

  22. Poverty Damages Children • Poverty impairs children’s healthy growth and development, now and in the future • Alters developmental trajectories • Research documents that children who experience poverty are: • Less likely to be healthy, both physically and mentally • Less likely to gain the education skills they need to become productive in the workforce • More likely to become teen parents • More likely to become arrested and incarcerated

  23. Poverty Fuels School Failure • Research reveals a linear relationship between family income and children’s achievement • Achievement gap exists at kindergarten and persists or widens in higher grades • Math and reading scores negatively related to poverty at kindergarten • National data sets on preschool and child care show that, at 4 years old, poor children are on average, 18 months below the developmental norm • By third grade, low-income children with undereducated parents know, on average, 8,000 fewer vocabulary words than their higher income peers Sources: L. Klein and J. Knitzer. (2007) Promoting effective early learning: What every policymakers should know.National Center for Children in Poverty; E.T. Gershoff (2003) Low-income and hardship among America’s kindergartners (Living at the Edge #3), NCCP; V.E. Lee & D.T. Burkham (2002) Inequality at the Starting Gate: Social background differences in achievement as children begin school. Economic Policy Institute

  24. Poverty is Unhealthy • Poor and low-income children are: • More likely to be in fair or poor health • More likely to be uninsured or underinsured • More likely to live in unsafe areas, limiting time to play outdoors • Less likely to receive preventive health care • Families less likely to receive advice and education from a physician • Uninsured children are: • More likely to develop infections, serious dental problems, asthma, diabetes and lead poisoning • More than 5 times more likely to have had an unmet need for medical care • Almost twice as likely to have not received a well-child check-up in the past year • 4 times more likely to use the emergency room Sources: 2001 National Health Interview Survey; K.T. Young, et. al. (1996) “The Commonwealth Fund Survey of Parents With Young Children” Commonwealth Fund; “The Road Not Traveled” (2006) Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota; National Center for Children in Poverty

  25. Poverty Jeopardizes Mental Health • Low-income children are more likely to be exposed to circumstances that impair healthy emotional, social development • Parental depression • Parents’ substance abuse • Domestic violence • Older children in poverty have higher rates of diagnosable disorders and learning problems • Issues often translates into dropping out of school, or involvement with child welfare or juvenile justice systems Source: J. Knitzer and J. Cooper. (2006) “Beyond Integration: Challenges for Children’s Mental Health.” Health Affairs; National Center for Children in Poverty

  26. Child Poverty Costs Us All • National team of researchers found costs to the U.S. associated with childhood poverty total $500 billion per year, or nearly 4% of GDP • Each year, estimated that child poverty: • Reduces productivity and economic output by $184 billion • Raises the costs of crime by $170 billion • Creates health costs of $184 billion • Report presented to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year Source: Harry J. Holzer, et. al. (2007) “The Economic Costs of Poverty in the United States: Subsequent Effects of Children Growing Up Poor.” Center for American Progress

  27. We Can Solve Child Poverty • The U.S. cut poverty in half between 1959 and 1973 • United Kingdom example • In 1999 Tony Blair committed his government to ending child poverty in the UK by 2020, cutting it in half by 2010 • UK has reduced child poverty by more than 50%, from 3.4 million children in 1999 to 1.6 million children in 2006 • Using absolute measure of poverty Source: Jane Waldfogel. (2007) “Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.” Center for American Progress

  28. Income Alone Affects Children’s Well-being • More than a decade of research shows that increasing income for families in poverty without any other interventions can positively affect child development • Welfare experiments that boosted income translated into improved school achievement by children • Final MDRC longitudinal evaluation of the Minnesota Family Investment Program pilot • Employment gains diminished, but gains in children’s school performance held Sources: N.K. Cauthen (2002) Policies that improve family income matter for children. National Center for Children in Poverty; E. Dearing, K. McCartney & B.A. Taylor (2001) “Change in family income-to-needs matters more for children with less” Child Development; V. Knox, C. Miller, and L. Gennetian (2000) Reforming Welfare and Rewarding Work: A Summary of the Final Report on the Minnesota Family Investment Program, MDRC.

  29. The Early Years Matter For A Lifetime • Economists have found that strategic investments in early childhood yield the greatest public return • This is when poverty is most prevalent and most damaging • Early years afford the most opportunity to alter the developmental arc of children • Set the stage for healthy, productive, successful adulthood, citizenship and parenthood Source: J.J. Heckman and D.V. Masterov (2004). The productivity argument for investing in young children (Invest in Kids Working Group Working Paper No. 5). Committee for Economic Development

  30. For More Information • Comprehensive data about Minnesota child trends is available in Seven Basic Needs: 2007 Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book • County poverty rates on pages 38-39 • Does not include most recent 2006 poverty and income data • Visit www.cdf-mn.org • Contact Andi Egbert at Children’s Defense Fund MN 651-855-1184 egbert@cdf-mn.org

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