Children and PovertyFamily Sociology

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) $39, 612 per year for a family of four

Source: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/eco1.asp

Child Poverty How many children live in poverty? Children represent a disproportionate share of the

poor in the United States They are 25 percent of the total population, but 35

percent of the poor population. In 2008, 15.45 million children, or 20.7 percent,

were poor.

Child Poverty in the U.S. There are

approximately 70 million children in the United States.

38%—almost 27 million—live in low-income families.

17.8%—13 million—

live in poor families.

2008 Child Poverty Rate http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/

acrossstates/Map.aspx?loct=2&ind=43&dtm=322&tf=35

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 %

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? http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/Default.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