1 in 5 US children live in poverty and other child poverty facts
CHILD POVERTY
- 1 in 5 US children lives in poverty - “Kids Count” report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that child poverty grew in 38 of 50 US states over the past decade. Article created Aug 2011: - Nearly 8 million children lived with at least 1 parent who was actively seeking employment but was unemployed in 2010 double the number in 2007. - In 2009, 20 percent of US children—about 14.7 million—were poor, up from 17 percent in 2000. - About 2.5 million more children were living in poverty in 2009 than in 2000. - In Mississippi, the worst-affected state, 31 percent of children live in poverty. - While New England states fared somewhat better, New Hampshire, with the lowest rate, still had 11 percent of children living in poverty. - The highest rates of child poverty were seen among African-Americans (36 percent), American Indian and Alaskan Natives (35 percent), and Hispanics (31 percent). - The official 2009 poverty line was $21,756 for a family of two adults and two children. - Families with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the poverty level—up to $44,700 for a family of four in 2011—still struggle to meet basic needs. The report notes that “missed rent payments, utility shutoffs, inadequate access to health care, unstable child care arrangements, and food insecurity are experiences common among families” in this income range, defined by the report as low-income. - In 2009, nearly half of all children under the age of three—some 6 million infants and toddlers—were living in low-income families. - In 2009, 6.6 out of every 1,000 live births ended in death before the first year. - In 2009, the US also ranked 28th among 32 industrialized countries in infant mortality
CHILD FOOD INSECURITY (STILL IN PROGRESS)
From the ERS of the USDA •In 2010, 85.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year, and 14.5 percent of households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The difference in the percentage of food insecure households from the 2009 estimate (14.7 percent) was not statistically significant. •In 2010, 5.4 percent of households experienced food insecurity in the more severe range, described as very low food security, down from 5.7 percent in 2009.
In 2007, 84.2 percent of households with children were food secure throughout the year, meaning that they had consistent access to enough food for active, healthy lives for all household members. The remaining 15.8 percent of households with children were food insecure at some time during the year. In about half of those households, only adults were food insecure, but in 8.3 percent of households with children, one or more of the children were also food insecure at some time during the year. In 0.8 percent of households with children, one or more of the children experienced the most severe food-insecure condition measured by USDA, very low food security, in which meals were irregular and food intake was below levels considered adequate by caregivers.
In 2010, 48.8 million people lived in food-insecure households. • 11.3 million adults lived in households with very low food security. • 16.2 million children(which is about 22% of the nation's children) lived in food-insecure households in which children, along with adults, were food insecure (see the ERS report, Food Insecurity in Households with Children: Prevalence, Severity, and Characteristics). However, children are usually protected from substantial reductions in food intake even in households with very low food security. In 2010, 976,000 children (1.3 percent of the Nation’s children) lived in households with very low food security among children.
In 2010, 22 percent of children under 18 lived in food-insecure households, and one percent in households with very low food security specifically among children.13
Food insecurity among children rose with the 2001 recession and continued to rise through 2002-2004, despite renewed economic growth. In 2005, food insecurity among children (including both low and very low food security) declined to about eight percent, and remained near that level until 2008, when it rose to 11 percent, where it has remained as of 2010.14 The prevalence of very low food security among children remained essentially unchanged from 1999 to 2006, at around 0.7 percent, but increased in 2007 to 0.9 percent, and to 1.5 percent in 2008, before declining slightly in 2009 and 2010 (1.3 percent) -from childtrendsdatabank
http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/364
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/aug2011/pove-a19.shtml