Child poverty rates in Canada, Ontario remain high, By Laurie Monsebraaten, November 26, 2013, Toronto Star: “Almost a generation after Ottawa’s vow to eradicate child poverty by 2000, national and provincial report cards show very little sustained progress. One in seven Canadian children — or 967,000 — still lives in a low-income household, according to Campaign 2000 in its annual report being released Tuesday, the 24th anniversary of the historic federal pledge. In Ontario, child poverty rates mirror the national average, with about 371,000 children living in poor households, says the group’s provincial report card, which is also being released Tuesday. Alarmingly, 38.2 per cent of children of single mothers in Ontario are living in poverty…”
Month: November 2013
Graduation Rates – Rhode Island
At R.I.’s urban schools, graduation rates are rising, By Lynn Arditi, November 26, 2013, Providence Journal: “High school graduation rates in Rhode Island’s poorest cities improved at more than twice the rate of the rest of the state during the last five years, according to a report released Monday by Rhode Island KidsCount. But among those urban students, about 34 percent — or one in three, on average — still are not graduating on time, the report said. The graduation rate in Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket increased 10 percent since 2007, to 66 percent in 2012, the KidsCount report found. In the rest of the state, the graduation rate during the same five-year period rose 4 percent, to 83 percent in 2012…”
Poverty and Children’s Health
Evidence mounting that poverty causes lasting physical and mental health problems for children, By David Templeton, November 24, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Sheila Good faced the decision most mothers dread. Should she spend more time raising her son or earning a paycheck? Should she be a better mom or a better provider? For her 6-year-old son, Benjamin, a little redhead dedicated to baseball, either choice would induce stress. It’s one of those puzzles of poverty with health impacts on children. Three recent studies add to mounting evidence that poverty can exact a lasting toll on a child’s mental and physical well-being, with stress representing a key pathway. Those studies focus on poverty’s impact on a child’s brain volume, the adverse impact of childhood poverty on adult health, and the mental and behavior problems associated with substandard housing…”