Child Poverty in the United States: Trends, Consequences, and Potential Solutions

1. Child Poverty in the United States:Trends, Consequences, and Potential Solutions Zakia Redd, Senior Research Scientist National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities: Seventh Annual Symposium June 9, 2014

2. Presentation Overview • About Child Trends • Child poverty by the numbers • How poverty harms children • Potential solutions • Discussion

4. EARLY CHILDHOOD YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FERTILITY AND FAMILY STRUCTURE EDUCATION (K-12) Research Areas INDICATORS DATA DEVELOPMENT FATHERHOOD AND PARENTING Poverty 4

5. What We Do • Develop and track data on children and youth • Help to design, implement, and evaluate youth-serving programs • Analyze and synthesize data and literature • Provide training and technical assistance • Design, field, and analyze surveys • Design and conduct implementation and qualitative studies

7. “What Works” Resources LINKS Database Lifecourse Interventions toNurture KidsSuccessfully: A continually updated database of What Works LINKS synthesis “What Works” fact sheets synthesize the lessons learned from experimentally evaluated programs in the LINKS database http://www.childtrends.org/links/

8. Performance Management Resources • Outcomes and Indicators • Survey and Assessment Tools http://www.performwell.org

9. Self-Sufficiency Research and Resources • Growing online library with over 3000 research-based resources focusing on low-income self-sufficiency • Designed for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers • Funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services • https://www.opressrc.org

10. What are the demographic and family background characteristics of poor children?

11. Poverty Trends among Children (17 and under)

12. Poverty among Infants and Toddlers

13. Poverty Trends, Children and Adults

14. Poverty by Race/Ethnicity

15. Poverty among Children, by Family Structure and Race/Ethnicity

16. Learning Disabilities among Children 3-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)

17. Learning Disabilities among Adolescents, by Poverty Status (2011/12)

18. ADHD/ADD among Children 3-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)

19. ADHD/ADD among Children 12-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)

20. What are the Consequences of Child Poverty?

21. 5 ways poverty harms children • Poverty harms the brain and other body systems • Poverty can negatively affect how the body and mind develop, and alter the fundamental architecture of the brain. • Children who experience poverty have an increased likelihood, extending into adulthood, for numerous chronic illnesses, and for a shortened life expectancy.

22. 5 ways poverty harms children • 2. Poverty leads to poor physical, emotional, and behavioral health. • Growing up poor  increases the likelihood that children will have poor health, including poor emotional and behavioral health. • Poor children are more likely to experience "food insecurity," as well as have diets that are deficient in important nutrients.  • Rates of several chronic health conditions, such as asthma, are higher among poor children. • They are less likely to receive preventive medical and dental care.

23. 5 ways poverty harms children • 3.Poor children are more likely to live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty, which is associated with numerous social ills.  • Growing up in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty is associated with negative academic outcomes, more social and behavioral problems, and poorer health and physical fitness outcomes. • Poor children are more likely to live in neighborhoods where they are exposed to environmental toxins and crime and violence • Poor children are also disproportionately likely to attend schools in districts with fewer resources, with facilities that are grossly inadequate, and with school leadership that is more transient.

24. 5 ways poverty harms children • 4. Poverty can harm children through the negative effects it has on their families and the home environment.  •  Poor parents report higher stress ,aggravation, and depressive symptoms than do higher-income parents. • Parents with scarce economic resources face difficulty planning, preparing, and providing for their families material needs. • Children in poor families have fewer books and other educational resources at home, and they are less likely to experience family outings, activities, and programs that can enrich learning opportunities

25. 5 ways poverty harms children • 5. Poverty creates and widens achievement gaps. • Young children growing up in poverty, when compared with higher income peers, fall behind early.  • Poor children lag behind their peers at entry to kindergarten, in reading ability at the end of third grade, and in school attendance in eighth grade. • Poor children are more likely to drop out of school, or fail to attain post- secondary credentials.

26. Effects of poverty can be long-lasting • Effects are more negative and long-lasting for children who experience deep poverty, persistent poverty, or poverty during their early years. • Intergenerational connection: children who grow up in persistent poverty are more likely to experience poverty as adults compared to children who do not.

27. What are Potential Solutions?Prevent or Reduce PovertyBuffer Negative Effects of Poverty

28. Poverty prevention policy considerations • Experimental evidence that welfare reform program that increasedfamily income led to improvements in children’s social and academic outcomes • Census analyses provide data on safety net and tax subsidy programs that help to lift families with children out of poverty (Supplemental Poverty Measure) • Earned Income Tax Credits helps to make work pay • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or Food Stamps) • Child care subsidies

29. Family support policy considerations • Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting for new and expectant mothers at risk for negative child outcomes. • Two-generation approaches integrate services for parents and children. Models differ, but often include programs that provide education, employment or social service supports for parents and early child care services for children. • Parenting education and parent-child interaction programs that are linguistically and culturally sensitive.

30. Promising and evidence-based program approaches • High-quality early childhood education has been proven to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children. • Integrated student supports that target academic and non-academic supports in more than 3,000 schools are promising approaches for improving educational outcomes. • Investments in effective teen pregnancy prevention programs may reduce poverty.

31. Promising and evidence-based program approaches • Well-implemented, high-quality programs targeting children and youth can be effective in improving learning outcomes: • Summer learning programs • Out-of-school time programs with individualized tutoring and academic enrichment components • Volunteer mentoring programs with intensive case management • School-based programs targeting social and emotional learning outcomes

32. Promising and evidence-based program approaches—best practices • Program quality matters • youth engagement, peer interactions, materials and space, structure and management, intentionality of programming, staff-youth interactions, etc. • Participation matters • Regular participation for longer durations associated with better outcomes • Stronger effects for more disadvantaged subgroups • Performance management and monitoring

33. Recommendations • With one in five children under age 18 and one in four children under 5 living in poverty, effective prevention strategies are needed. • More research is needed to understand why learning disabilities are more prevalent among poor children. • Programs, funders, policymakers should consider piloting, testing, and expanding effective and promising approaches for improving children’s educational outcomes. • When sample sizes permit, more studies should examine outcomes for subgroups of children with learning disabilities and ADHD

34. Discussion and Questions • Contact Information: • Zakia Redd, M.P.P. • Senior Research Scientist, Youth Development • zredd@childtrends.org • 240-223-9320 • Sign up for our weekly e-news at: • Childtrends.org

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