More than 16 million American children currently live in poverty
Despite having immense economic prosperity, the
United States has the 4th highest rate of child poverty amongst the
world’s developed countries, according to the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development. With a
child poverty rate of 21.63% the U.S. trails only Turkey, Chile, and
Mexico. Mexico has the highest rate of
child poverty amongst developed nations with a rate of 25.79%.
On November 20, 2012, a FRONTLINE documentary titled
Poor Kids premiered on PBS. Poor
Kids offers a glimpse of how poor children in America cope with living in
poverty. Persistent hunger, stress, and
constantly changing living conditions are common challenges that children
living in poverty endure on a daily basis.
In 2011, more than 16 million children or about 1 in
5 were living in poverty, according to statistics from the U.S. Census
Bureau. FRONTLINE and the National
Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School
of Public Health confirm that the method the federal government uses to measure
poverty is significantly outdated.
Federal poverty guidelines were established in the 1960s.
Children who live in single parent households and
also children who live in households with parents with low levels of education
are at a greater risk of living in poverty.
“Eighty-three percent of children whose parents have less than a high
school diploma live in low-income families, and over half of children whose
parents have only a high school degree are low income as well,” according to
the NCCP.
47.6% of all children who live with a single mother
live in poverty. Furthermore, children
of single mothers experience poverty at a rate that is more than four times
higher than children in married-couple families, according to Poor Kids. However, more than 1 in 4 children with
married parents lives in a low income family.
In the midst of the recent U.S. recession millions of American families
struggled to cover their expenses. “In
addition to the millions of families who struggle to make ends meet, millions
of others are merely one crisis – a job loss, health emergency, or divorce –
away from financial devastation, particularly in this fragile economy,”
according to the NCCP.
Children who live in poverty are at greater risk of
dropping out of school, developing poor adult health habits, and have decreased
employment opportunities. The NCCP
points out the greater societal impact: “Economists estimate that child poverty
costs the U.S. $500 billion a year in lost productivity in the labor force and
spending on health care and the criminal justice system. Each year, child poverty reduces productivity
and economic output by about 1.3 percent of GDP.” The NCCP also indicates that altering
maternity/family leave could improve economic security for American children and
their families. “Despite the fact that a
child’s earliest years have a profound effect on his or her life trajectory and
ultimate ability to succeed, the U.S. remains one of the only industrialized
countries that does not provide paid family leave for parents with a new baby.”
It is clear that the U.S. must do better. Having such a high rate of child poverty is
detrimental to not only the present generation of children but future
generations of Americans as well. There
are no simple answers to correct the problem of high child poverty rates. Being aware of this tragic situation is the
first step.
If you are interested in watching Poor Kids visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poor-kids/
According
to the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University’s Mailman
School of Public Health & FRONTLINE’s Poor
Kids documentary:
*Child poverty rates are highest among African
American, American Indian, and Hispanic children.
*In the U.S., child poverty rates range from 9% in
New Hampshire to 31% in Mississippi. The majority of America's poor children live in the southern U.S.
*The current federal poverty guideline for a family
of four is $23,050.
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