New Data Reports Reveal Kids Getting Poorer

In recent weeks a number of child data reports have been released. They all reflect similar trends that will affect child welfare policy and practice.

Increasingly, children and families are slipping into poverty, making children more vulnerable than ever to maltreatment and negative outcomes such as untreated health needs, homelessness, and lack of education.

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2011 by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Services

“A higher proportion of 8th graders used illicit drugs, more children were likely to live in poverty, and fewer children were likely to live with at least one parent working year round, full time.”

The State of America’s Children 2011 by the Children’s Defense Fund

“More than 94,000 children live with grandparents, with neither parent present. Twenty percent of grandparents raising grandchildren live in poverty.”

“Two-thirds of poor children live in a home in which at least one family member works.”

2011 Kids Counts: New Data and State Rankings on Child Well-Being by the Annie E. Casey Foundation

“The recent recession has wiped out many of the economic gains for children that occurred in the late 1990s. Nearly 8 million children lived with at least one parent who was actively seeking employment but was unemployed in 2010. This is double the number in 2007, just three years earlier. The news about the number of children who were affected by foreclosure in the United States is also very troubling because these economic challenges greatly hinder the well-being of families and the nation.”