Research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that child poverty increased in 38 states from 2000 to 2009.
The study said 14.7 million children, 20 percent, were poor in 2009. That represents a 2.5 million increase from 2000, when 17 percent of the nation’s youth lived in low-income homes. In the foundation’s first examination of the impact of the recession on the nation’s children, the researchers concluded that low-income children will likely suffer academically, economically and socially long after their parents have recovered.
Amy Scott reports on this story for Marketplace today. She spoke with the Foundation’s Laura Speer, who said Nevada leads the pack. 16% of children in Nevada had a least one unemployed parent. The state is also home to the most children affected by foreclosures–13 percent of all Silver State babies, toddlers and teenagers have been kicked out of their homes because of an unpaid mortgage, the study found.
Amy also spoke with Fuilala Riley, of HELP of Southern Nevada. The group assists families facing joblessness and foreclosure. Riley says in her area, half of kids don’t graduate.
It’s hard for a student to stay focused in getting good grades when they don’t know where they’re going to sleep that night, or they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
The report does offer some ideas…like foreclosure prevention programs and subsidized child care and health insurance.
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