Child Poverty in the United States: Trends, Consequences, and Potential Solutions

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Child Poverty in the United States:Trends, Consequences, and Potential

Solutions

Zakia Redd, Senior Research ScientistJune 9, 2014

National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities: Seventh Annual Symposium

2Child Poverty in the U.S.: Trends, Consequences and Potential SolutionsZakia Redd

Presentation Overview• About Child Trends• Child poverty by the numbers• How poverty harms children• Potential solutions• Discussion

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About Child TrendsChild Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center that improves the lives and prospects of children and youth by conducting high-quality research and sharing the resulting knowledge with practitioners and policymakers.

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We . . .

1. take a whole child approach2. study children in the real world3. want children to flourish4. value objectivity and rigor5. pursue knowledge development and knowledge transfer

Child Poverty in the U.S.: Trends, Consequences and Potential SolutionsZakia Redd


Research Areas

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FATHERHOOD AND PARENTING

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Poverty INDICATORS

EDUCATION (K-12)

DATA DEVELOPMENT

YOUTH DEVELOPMENTFERTILITY AND FAMILY

STRUCTURE


What We Do

• Develop and track data on children and youth• Help to design, implement, and evaluate youth-

serving programs• Analyze and synthesize data and literature• Provide training and technical assistance• Design, field, and analyze surveys• Design and conduct implementation and qualitative

studies

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Child Poverty in the U.S.: Trends, Consequences and Potential SolutionsZakia Redd


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What are the demographic and family background

characteristics of poor children?


Poverty Trends among Children (17 and under)

1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 20130

10

20

30

40

50

27.3

14.0

22.319.5

22.7

16.2

22.021.8

Percentage of Children Living Below Poverty Thresholds, Selected Years, 1959-2012

Perc

ent

Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement. Income, poverty and health insurance in the United States: detailed tables. Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/index.html. Data for 2002-2011: U.S. Census Bureau. CPS Table Creator (online tool), available at: http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html

Sources: Poverty level data for 1959-2001: U.S. Census Bureau. Historical poverty tables-People: Current Population Survey. Table 3. Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html. Other data 1975-1985: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2002). Trends in the well-being of America's children and youth 2001. Table ES 1.2.A. Author. Available at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/01trends/ . Other data for 1990-2000: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual So-cial and Economic Supplement. Poverty in the United States: detailed tables. Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/in-cpovhlth/index.html. Data for 2001: U.S. Census


Poverty among Infants and Toddlers

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

10

20

30

40

50

21.1 21.0 21.5 22.3 24.526.1

25.3

Percentage of Children, Ages Birth through 2, Living in Poverty, 2006-2012*

Perc

ent

*Year reflects the year that the question was asked. Question was asked regarding the previous 12 months.Source: CPS Annual Social and Economic Supplement, CPS Table Creator, http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html. Data refer to children residing with and related to the householder.


Poverty Trends, Children and Adults

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

21.8

13.7

9.1

Percent of People in Poverty, by Age, 1959-2012

Under 18 18-64 65 and older

Perc

ent

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement , (CPS-ASEC), 2013


Poverty by Race/Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic White Black Hispanic Asian 0

10

20

30

40

50

12.3

37.9

33.8

13.8

Percentage of Children who are Poor by Race and Hispanic Origin, 2012

Perc

ent

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. CPS Table Creator (online tool), available at: http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html

Note: Estimates reflect the new OMB race definitions, and include only those who are identified with a single race. Hispanics may be of any race.


Poverty among Children, by Family Structure and Race/Ethnicity

11.1

6.2

15.0

23.6

10.3

47.1

36.5

53.3 54.5

32.7

0

20

40

60

80

100

All races Non-Hispanic White Black Hispanic Asian

Perc

ent

Percentage of Children in Poverty, by Family Structure, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 2012

Married-couple families Single-mother families

Figure 3

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. CPS Table Creator (online tool), available at: http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html.

Note: Estimates reflect the new OMB race definitions, and include only those who are identified with a single race. Hispanics may be of any race.


Learning Disabilities among Children 3-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)

National At/below poverty Above 100% FPL0

5

10

15

20

25

8

12.1

6.9

Percentage of Children Ages 3-17 with a Learning Disability, by Poverty Status, 2011/12

Source: Original calculations by Child Trends of National Survey of Children's Health data 2011/2012.


Learning Disabilities among Adolescents, by Poverty Status (2011/12)


5

10

15

20

25

10.2

16.3

8.7

Percentage of Children Ages 12-17 with a Learning Disability, by Poverty Status, 2011/12



ADHD/ADD among Children 3-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)


5

10

15

20

25

7.9

9.5

7.4

Percentage of Children Ages 3-17 with ADHD/ADD, by Poverty Status, 2012 (National Survey of Children's Health)



ADHD/ADD among Children 12-17, by Poverty Status (2011/12)


5

10

15

20

25

10.7

13.1

10.1

Percentage of Children Ages 12-17 with ADHD/ADD, by Poverty Status, 2011/12 (National Survey of Children's Health)



What are the Consequences of Child Poverty?


5 ways poverty harms children1. Poverty harms the brain and other body

systems• Poverty can negatively affect how the body and

mind develop, and alter the fundamental architecture of the brain.

• Children who experience poverty have an increased likelihood, extending into adulthood, for numerous chronic illnesses, and for a shortened life expectancy.


5 ways poverty harms children2. Poverty leads to poor physical, emotional, and

behavioral health.• Growing up poor increases the likelihood that children will

have poor health, including poor emotional and behavioral health.

• Poor children are more likely to experience "food insecurity," as well as have diets that are deficient in important nutrients.

• Rates of several chronic health conditions, such as asthma, are higher among poor children.

• They are less likely to receive preventive medical and dental care.


5 ways poverty harms children3. Poor children are more likely to live in neighborhoods with

concentrated poverty, which is associated with numerous social ills. • Growing up in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty is

associated with negative academic outcomes, more social and behavioral problems, and poorer health and physical fitness outcomes.

• Poor children are more likely to live in neighborhoods where they are exposed to environmental toxins and crime and violence

• Poor children are also disproportionately likely to attend schools in districts with fewer resources, with facilities that are grossly inadequate, and with school leadership that is more transient.


5 ways poverty harms children4. Poverty can harm children through the negative

effects it has on their families and the home environment. • Poor parents report higher stress ,aggravation,

and depressive symptoms than do higher-income parents. • Parents with scarce economic resources face difficulty

planning, preparing, and providing for their families material needs.

• Children in poor families have fewer books and other educational resources at home, and they are less likely to experience family outings, activities, and programs that can enrich learning opportunities


5 ways poverty harms children5. Poverty creates and widens achievement

gaps.• Young children growing up in poverty, when

compared with higher income peers, fall behind early.

• Poor children lag behind their peers at entry to kindergarten, in reading ability at the end of third grade, and in school attendance in eighth grade.

• Poor children are more likely to drop out of school, or fail to attain post- secondary credentials.


• Effects are more negative and long-lasting for children who experience deep poverty, persistent poverty, or poverty during their early years.

• Intergenerational connection: children who grow up in persistent poverty are more likely to experience poverty as adults compared to children who do not.

Effects of poverty can be long-lasting


What are Potential Solutions?Prevent or Reduce Poverty

Buffer Negative Effects of Poverty


Poverty prevention policy considerations

• Experimental evidence that welfare reform program that increased family income led to improvements in children’s social and academic outcomes

• Census analyses provide data on safety net and tax subsidy programs that help to lift families with children out of poverty (Supplemental Poverty Measure)o Earned Income Tax Credits helps to make work payo Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or

Food Stamps) o Child care subsidies


Family support policy considerations

• Voluntary, evidence-based home visiting for new and expectant mothers at risk for negative child outcomes.

• Two-generation approaches integrate services for parents and children. Models differ, but often include programs that provide education, employment or social service supports for parents and early child care services for children.

• Parenting education and parent-child interaction programs that are linguistically and culturally sensitive.


Promising and evidence-based program approaches

• High-quality early childhood education has been proven to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.

• Integrated student supports that target academic and non-academic supports in more than 3,000 schools are promising approaches for improving educational outcomes.

• Investments in effective teen pregnancy prevention programs may reduce poverty.


Promising and evidence-based program approaches

• Well-implemented, high-quality programs targeting children and youth can be effective in improving learning outcomes:• Summer learning programs• Out-of-school time programs with individualized tutoring

and academic enrichment components • Volunteer mentoring programs with intensive case

management• School-based programs targeting social and emotional

learning outcomes


Promising and evidence-based program approaches—best practices

• Program quality matterso youth engagement, peer interactions, materials and space,

structure and management, intentionality of programming, staff-youth interactions, etc.

• Participation matterso Regular participation for longer durations associated with

better outcomes• Stronger effects for more disadvantaged subgroups• Performance management and monitoring


Recommendations

• With one in five children under age 18 and one in four children under 5 living in poverty, effective prevention strategies are needed.

• More research is needed to understand why learning disabilities are more prevalent among poor children.

• Programs, funders, policymakers should consider piloting, testing, and expanding effective and promising approaches for improving children’s educational outcomes.o When sample sizes permit, more studies should examine

outcomes for subgroups of children with learning disabilities and ADHD


Discussion and Questions Contact Information:

Zakia Redd, M.P.P. Senior Research Scientist, Youth Development

[email protected]

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Child Poverty in the United States: Trends, Consequences, and Potential Solutions