Children and Poverty Introduction to Family Studies

Thinking about Poverty  What percentage of the population is poor?  What percentage of children are poor?  What are poor children’s lives like?

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 2005 federal poverty level (FPL) $44,100 per year for a family of four Source:

Child Poverty  How many children live in poverty?  Children represent a disproportionate share of the poor in the United States  25 percent of the total population, are children in the U.S.  but  35 percent of the poor population are children  In 2008, million children, or 20.7 percent, were poor.

Child Poverty Rates in the U.S. from Source: Kids Count retrieved from 1&dt=1%2c3%2c2%2c4

 es/Map.aspx?loct=2&ind=43&dtm=322&tf=3 5 es/Map.aspx?loct=2&ind=43&dtm=322&tf=3 5  le.aspx?cat=16&group=Category&loc=1&dt=1%2c3%2c2% 2c4  Sources for Statistics on Child Poverty

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

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

Effects of Poverty on Children  Health Mortality Low birth weight Health problems Abuse  Educational Outcomes High drop out rate Underfunded schools

Kidscount website  What are poverty rates for Children in New Jersey? efault.aspx

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

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

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

Summary  For a rich nation, the U.S. has high rates of child poverty  Children are more likely to be in poverty than adults  Child poverty varies by race and ethnicity