- Child poverty rates on the rise, By Hoai-Tran Bui, July 22, 2014, USA Today: “Child poverty rates in the U.S. are on the rise, but health and education trends are showing improvements—including teen pregnancy reaching a historic low, according to the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In its analysis of children’s overall well-being, the 25th edition of the KIDS COUNT Data Book found that about 23% of children in 2012 are living in families below the poverty line. The KIDS COUNT Data Book takes into account four factors to judge children’s well-being – economic status, education, health and family and community – and found that statistics were generally mixed since the study was started in 1990. This year’s data book looks at state Census statistics up until 2012…”
- Southwest, South score low on child-welfare index, Associated Press, July 22, 2014, Washington Post: “Several states in the Deep South and Southwest have earned dismal scores on an annual child-welfare index that cited poverty and single-parent house households as worrisome trends that must be turned around for things to improve. Mississippi was rated the worst state for overall child well-being, largely because of rising child poverty. It was the second time in three years the state has come in last in rankings complied in the Kids Count Data Book. New Mexico, Nevada, Louisiana and Arizona round out the bottom five states. The study released Tuesday marks the 25th edition of the child well-being scorecard from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a child advocacy group…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty