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TEST-Poverty Increases for the Fourth Year in a Row in 2004 1.5 Million More Children Are Poor than in 2000
WASHINGTON, D.C. Since reaching a low point in 2000, the number of children living in poverty in the United States has grown by 12.8 percent to exceed 13 million, according to an analysis by the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) of U.S. Census Bureau data released today. Poor families and children are being left behind as the benefits of a steadily growing economy fail to trickle down. As these numbers come to light, Congress is preparing to enact additional tax cuts and cut funding for programs that serve low-income children and families. “The persistent and growing high level of child poverty reflects conscious and misguided choices,” said Marian Wright Edelman, CEO and Founder of CDF. “How can the Bush Administration and Congress give enormous tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans who have benefited most from the economic recovery while threatening to cut the budgets for Medicaid, Food Stamps and other programs that assist poor children who continue to be left behind?” The importance of maintaining these programs is underscored by new health insurance data also released today. Private health insurance coverage for children has declined since 2000, but because of the continued effectiveness of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program in filling coverage gaps, health insurance for children nationally has remained stable and even slightly improved. Nonetheless, there are still 9.1 million uninsured children. More than seven out of every ten poor children in 2004 had at least one employed parent. Working hard and playing by the rules is not enough to lift families out of poverty. For example, even if a parent with one child works full time at the federal minimum wage, not raised since 1997, the family still lives in poverty. Since 2000, child poverty is significantly up among all racial groups. The number of poor Latino children has increased by 774,000 (23%); the number of poor Black children increased by 293,000 (8.4%), and the number of poor White (non-Latino) children has increased by more than 322,000 (7.7%). In addition, extreme child poverty increased by 20 percent from 2000 to 2004 to reach almost 5.6 million children. Extreme poverty is defined as living with annual income below $7,610 for a family of three. “Far less wealthy industrialized countries have committed to end child poverty, while the United States is sliding backwards. We can do better. We must demand that our leaders do better,” Edelman said. For additional information, please read Defining Poverty and Why It Matters for Children available at http://www.childrensdefense.org/familyincome/childpoverty/definingpoverty.pdf Do you have a story related to this article. If so, click here and tell us about it. # # # The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. CDF provides a strong, effective voice for all the children of America who cannot vote, lobby, or speak for themselves. We pay particular attention to the needs of poor and minority children and those with disabilities. CDF educates the nation about the needs of children and encourages preventive investment before they get sick, into trouble, drop out of school, or suffer family breakdown. CDF began in 1973 and is a private, nonprofit organization supported by foundation and corporate grants and individual donations. We have never taken government funds. |
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