Day: July 27, 2010

Report: Child-poverty rate increases 50 percent in Colorado, By Colleen O’Connor, July 26, 2010, Denver Post: “The rate of Colorado children living in poverty increased 50 percent between 2000 and 2008, compared with a 6 percent increase nationwide, according to 2010 Kids Count Data Book, an annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that tracks how states have progressed – or regressed – over time in protecting the well-being of children. ‘What struck us most about this report is the percent of children living in poverty in Colorado has risen so dramatically, compared to the nation,’ said Lisa Piscopo, KidsCount director for the Colorado Children’s Campaign. Piscopo attributed the dramatic increase in child poverty to ‘a rise in cost of living without a comparable rise in wages, the number of dropouts, changing demographics and an inability on Colorado’s part to recover from the recession of 2001.’ In 2008, about 179,409 Colorado children, or about 15 percent, lived in poverty, up from 104,214, or 10 percent, in 2000. That rate compares with 18 percent nationally, up from 17 percent in 2000…”