Report suggests US children left behind in economic recovery

[mountaineer]

Report suggests US children left behind in economic recovery
Report on child welfare suggests many US children were left behind in economic recovery
By Kyle Potter, Associated Press
24 minutes ago
via Yahoo News

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- A new report on child welfare that found more U.S. children living in poverty than before the Great Recession belies the fanfare of the nation's economic turnaround.

Twenty-two percent of American children were living in poverty in 2013 compared with 18 percent in 2008, according to the latest Kids Count Data Book, with poverty rates nearly double among African-Americans and American Indians and problems most severe in South and Southwest.

The report, released Tuesday from the child advocacy group the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed some signs of slight improvement, including high school graduation rates at an all-time high and a falling percentage of uninsured children. But the bright spots weren't enough to offset a picture that many children have been left behind amid the nation's economic recovery.

Here are some things to know about the report:

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DIFFERING CAUSES

The foundation's studies cover 16 different measures, delving into economic well-being, health care, education and family and community issues.

The problems extend beyond — and in some cases drive — increasing poverty rates. More children were raised in single-parent homes in 2013 than in 2008, and fewer lived with parents with secure employment.

Foundation President Patrick McCarthy said that particularly troubling is an increase in the share of kids living in poor communities, regardless of their own families' economic standing. The report says 1 in 7 children live in those areas, marked by poor schools and a lack of a safe place to play.

"They're more likely to fall down the economic ladder, less likely to be employed and more likely to get in trouble," McCarthy said.

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A MIX OF FIXES

McCarthy likened child poverty to a "particularly pernicious form of cancer," and he prescribed a cocktail of economic policies and fixes to tackle it.

Tax credits and additional support such as food stamps could give low-income families a much-needed boost, and job training could provide help for struggling to get an economic foothold. Businesses should implement more family-friendly policies, and a massive infrastructure repair campaign could create countless jobs.

"None of them is a magic bullet. When you put them all together, you start to put the children on a path to success," he said.

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STRUGGLING IN THE SOUTH

States in the South and Southwest continued a steady run at the bottom of the Kids Count rankings for overall child well-being, with issues including economic standing and education.

According to the report, 1 in 3 children from Mississippi live in poverty. Twelve percent of teens from Mississippi and Louisiana were neither in school nor working. Fifteen percent of Nevada children didn't have health insurance, compared with the nation-best 2 percent in Massachusetts.

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MIDWEST ON TOP

Minnesota nabbed the report's top ranking, taking a spot generally reserved for a Northeast state and rounding out the Midwest's strong pattern of supporting children.

McCarthy said there's not much to make of one state usurping another for a top spot. Instead, he focused on the broader regional patterns: New England and Midwestern states generally occupy the top 10 while the South and Southwest struggle in the bottom rankings.

"That's where you see a difference in day-to-day lives," he said.

Another "thanks, Obama!" moment.

[EdinVA]

More children were raised in single-parent homes in 2013 than in 2008, and fewer lived with parents with secure employment.
Fifteen percent of Nevada children didn't have health insurance..

Liberals are in charge.  They promised they had a fix for this so this MUST be a right wing conspiracy...

[mountaineer]

via WTRF

Report: More than 1 in 4 W.Va. children living in poverty
Updated: Jul 21, 2015 8:38 AM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A new report says more than one in four West Virginia children are living in poverty.

The annual KIDS Count report says the number of children living in poverty grew from 87,000 in 2008 to 100,000 in 2013, an increase of nearly 15 percent.

The report says 38 percent of children, or 144,000, were living in families whose parents lacked secure employment in 2013, compared to 32 percent in 2008.

Several other child well-being indicators improved during the same period. The death rate for children and teens declined from 36 per 100,000 to 34. The teen birth rate fell from 47 per 1,000 to 40.

Overall, the report ranks West Virginia 43rd for child well-being, down from 37th in 2014.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released the report on Tuesday.

And this goes for the other 56 states, too, it seems.  Link to the full report at Annie E. Casey Foundation.

[massadvj]

Don't worry, kids.  You can always take out $80K in loans to pay for government-subsidized education. Then (if you are one of the lucky ones) you can graduate with a job that pays $40K per year, a third of which will be taxed at various levels, plus you'll have to repay the $80K, plus you'll have the honor of being forced to shell out $700 per month for health insurance you don't really need.

OTOH isn't it great that you got to vote for the first black POTUS?

[mystery-ak]

http://www.newsmax.com/PrintTemplate.aspx/?nodeid=658288


Newsmax
Report: 3 Million More Children in Poverty Under Obama
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 07:00 PM

By: Greg Richter

The poverty rate for children in America has risen 22 percent under the Obama presidency – a total of 3 million more, according to the 2015 "Kids Count" report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The number of children in poverty was 18 percent in 2008, the year Obama was elected, and had risen to 22 percent by 2013. The rate did decline from 2012 to 2013 as the economy improved.

The survey found vast differences in the rate of poverty ranging from a low of 10 percent in New Hampshire to a high of 34 percent in Mississippi. Overall, New England and the Upper Midwest had the lowest rates, while the Southeast and Southwest were highest.

African-American children had the highest rate of poverty at 39 percent, which was more than double the rate for non-Hispanic whites at 14 percent.

Not having at least one parent working full time year-round was a major contributor to poverty, the report showed, and that number climbed by almost 2.7 million between 2008 and 2013.

"Roughly half of all American Indian children (50 percent) and African-American children (48 percent) had no parent with full-time, year-round employment in 2013, compared with 37 percent of Latino children, 24 percent of non-Hispanic white children and 23 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander children," the report said.

[rangerrebew]

Report: 3 million more children in poverty under Obama, 22% of all kids


By Paul Bedard • 7/21/15 4:19 PM

 Ever since President Obama took office, the poverty rate among children has soared to 22 percent, with three million more children living in poor conditions, according to an authoritative new report released Tuesday.

The 2015 "KIDS COUNT" report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation said that the percentage of children living in poverty jumped from 18 percent in 2008, the year Obama was elected, to 22 percent in 2013. It added that the rate dropped from 2012 to 2013, in line with the improving economy.
 

Among minority children and in some states, especially the South, however, the situation is dire. The report said, for example:

 
 
• The rate of child poverty for 2013 ranged from a low of 10 percent in New Hampshire, to a high of 34 percent in Mississippi.

• The child poverty rate among African Americans (39 percent) was more than double the rate for non-Hispanic whites (14 percent) in 2013.
 
The report also explained that a lack of jobs or good income above the poverty rate of $23,624 was the reason more children have grown up in poor families.

• In 2013, three in 10 children (22.8 million) lived in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment. Since 2008, the number of such children climbed by nearly 2.7 million.
 

• Roughly half of all American Indian children (50 percent) and African-American children (48 percent) had no parent with full-time, year-round employment in 2013, compared with 37 percent of Latino children, 24 percent of non-Hispanic white children and 23 percent of Asian and Pacific Islander children."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/report-3-million-more-children-in-poverty-under-obama-22-of-all-kids/article/2568686