Child Poverty Rising
By Dr. Marciene Mattleman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Analysis by the Brookings Institution showed that child poverty rate nationwide rose from 18 to 22 percent from 2007 to 2010. According to Education Week, the number of poor children surged by 3 million to 16 million.
Those figures are based on U.S. Census Bureau poverty measures, roughly $22,000 annually for a family of four. Mississippi had the highest rate of child poverty, at 32.5 percent, followed by the District of Columbia and New Mexico. New Hampshire was lowest, at 10 percent.
Before the recession, child poverty was concentrated mostly in the Southern and Southwestern United States, then it became significantly worse in several Midwestern and Western states. In 2011 in an average month, six and half million children under 18 lived in families with an unemployed parent.
Public Citizens for Children and Youth reports 17% child poverty in Pennsylvania and 13% in both New Jersey and Delaware with a devastating 36% in Philadelphia.
Read more at Blogs.Edweek.org.
