Report reveals upsetting percentages of children in poverty, change needed for youth nationwide

In their November Early Childhood Education Update, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) reported the National Center for Children in Poverty’s (NCCP) findings on low-income children and their families based on the 2009 Census data. The facts include that in 2009:

• Children (under age 18) represented 36% of all people living in poverty, even though they comprise only 25% of the population.
• About 42% of children lived in low-income families at 200% or below the federal poverty level, while about 21% of youth lived in poor families.
• 46% of young children (under age 6) lived in low-income households, while 24% lived in poverty.
• 53% of young children (under 6) in urban areas lived in low-income families, while 38% of young children in suburban areas and 54% of young children in rural areas did.

The NCCP’s statistics on children in poverty in New York show that locally, the situation is not much better:

• 40% of all children (under 18) live in low-income families at 200% of below the federal poverty level.
• 20% of all children live in poor families, below 100% of the poverty level.

Unfortunately, the NCCP further reported that the percentage of children living in low-income families (both poor and near poor) has increased from 37% in 2000 to 42% in 2009. Moreover, the percentage of children under 18 in low-income families is greater than that of adults, with children nearly twice as likely as adults (age 65 and older) to live in poor families.

The report states that factors contributing to children’s poverty include race/ethnicity, parents’ education, and parents’ employment. But with the divide in Congress created by the recent election, and voters appearing to be against government spending, quick improvement in these areas seems unlikely. Janet Hook and Sara Murray reported in the Wall Street Journal that already, Congress is unlikely to extend unemployment benefits for two million jobless workers by the time the benefits program begins to lapse in two weeks. It is also already likely that Bush-era tax cuts for the highest earners will be extended. With these devastating statistics showing how much families are in need, these changes leave little hope for people in poverty. Impoverished children often do not have the voice to advocate for themselves. Public pressure from adults is needed now, more than ever, to support the nation’s struggling youth.