Snapshot
- Every 41 seconds a baby is born into poverty.
- 1 in 5 children live in poverty—12.8 million in total
- More than 2 in 3 children in poverty are children of color
- The harm of childhood poverty can last a lifetime.
Childhood Poverty
America’s children are the poorest age group in our country. Approximately 1 in 5 children—12.8 million in total and 45 percent of these children lived in extreme poverty at less than half the poverty level. Nearly 70 percent of poor children were children of color. About 1 in 3 American Indian/Alaska Native children and more than 1 in 4 Black and Hispanic children were poor.
Poor children under 5 experience gaps in cognitive skills due to experiencing poverty during the years of rapid brain development.
The harm of childhood poverty can last a lifetime. Childhood poverty puts children at risk for intergenerational cycle of poverty due to the risk of homelessness, hunger and jeopardizing education and health.
The United States is of America is among the richest nations in the world and has a moral obligation to uplift its youngest citizens. Investments in our children not only protect their future but the future, prosperity and vitality of our country.
Solutions
We need to create the political will to address and create initiatives and policies to address, reduce and ultimately eradicate childhood poverty
Ending child poverty will take a multi-pronged approach.
- Ensure Children’s Basic Needs are Met: We must increase investments in housing assistance for poor families, so they all can afford a safe and stable home to raise their children. We must also increase the value of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to cover a larger portion of the nutrition needs of children, so they are healthy and ready to learn. And we must make the Child Tax Credit fully refundable to ensure more low-income families benefit.
- Increase Employment and Make Work Pay: We must increase wages for working families, expand subsidized jobs with special attention to the needs of young adults disconnected from school and work, and provide access to quality, reliable childcare.
- Level the Playing Field for Poor Children: To reduce child poverty long term, children also need access to affordable, comprehensive physical and behavioral health care, affordable high-quality early development and learning opportunities, high performing schools and colleges, and families and neighborhoods free from violence.