​Study: Child Poverty in the U.S. Continues to Decline

DURHAM, NH — A new study shows child poverty continuing to drop in the United States but disparities exist inside of the data, according to researchers at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Between 2014 and 2015, child poverty fell for all race-ethnicities except Asians, but patterns in levels and characteristics of child poverty persist.

Black and Hispanic children experienced some of the largest declines in poverty between 2014 and 2015, but nationwide child poverty among black children (36.5 percent) is still nearly three times as high as those among non-Hispanic white and Asian children (12.5 and 12.1 percent, respectively). Poverty rates are highest for black children in the Midwest and South (43.2 and 36 percent) and for Hispanic children in the Northeast (33.3 percent). Black child poverty is highest in rural places and Hispanic child poverty is highest in cities.

“Given the well-established connection between child poverty and brain development, educational attainment, later labor market participation and long-term health incomes, the high incidence of place and race based child poverty in the U.S. is of particular concern,” the researchers said. “Closer attention to these disparities may nudge policy makers to think carefully about the context of place in efforts to alleviate poverty and increase youth opportunity.”

The full report can be found here: carsey.unh.edu/publication/2015-child-poverty. The research was conducted by Jessica Carson, vulnerable families research scientist at the Carsey School; Beth Mattingly, director of research on vulnerable families at the Carsey School; and Andrew Schaefer, a vulnerable families research scientist at the Carsey School.

Submitted by Erika Mantz.

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