Child Poverty in Minnesota

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Child Poverty in Minnesota

• Trends, Consequences,
• and Opportunities

Andi Egbert, Research Director, Childrens
Defense Fund Minnesota Legislative Commission to
End Poverty in Minnesota by 2020
September 5, 2007
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Childrens Defense Fund Minnesota

• Nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
• CDF does not seek nor accept any government
  funds
  
• MN is one of 12 state and regional offices
• The mission of the Childrens Defense Fund is to
  ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start,
  a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in
  life and successful passage to adulthood with the
  help of caring families and communities.

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CDF Minnesota Initiatives
Research Analysis and information regarding
child and family well-being

• Child advocacy
• Legislative and grassroots

Outreach Helping eligible families access
public benefits and claim tax credits
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What is KIDS COUNT?

• A national and state-by-state effort to track
  the well-being of children, based upon reliable
  national and state-level data sources
  
• Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
• CDF Minnesota is the Minnesota KIDS COUNT
  grantee. We provide
  
• State-level and county-by-county data on the
  well-being of Minnesota's children and families
  
• An annual data book and other periodical reports
  to provide a statistical profile of Minnesota's
  children and suggestions for action on their
  behalf

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Presentation Overview

• Definitions of poverty
• Who are Minnesotas poor children and families?
• Trends in child, family poverty
• Adverse effects of poverty for children and
  society
  
• Education risks
• Health and developmental risks
• Economic impacts
• Alleviating poverty outcomes and opportunities
• Questions

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Data and Definitions

• Data Sources
• State-level data from U.S. Census Bureaus
  American Community Surveys (ACS), 2000-2006
  
• No group quarters in pre-2006 surveys No foster,
  homeless, institutionalized children
  
• County-level data from the Census Bureaus Small
  Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE),
  2000-2004
  
• Children defined as those under age 18
• Families defined as households with at least one
  child present
  

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Defining Child Poverty

• Official poverty
• Family income below the federal poverty
  threshold
  
• Less than 100 poverty
• About 20,500 for a family of 4 in 2006
• Extreme poverty
• Less than 50 poverty
• Annual income of less than half of poverty
  threshold, or 10,250 for a family of 4
  

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Defining Child Poverty

• Low-income poverty
• Less than 200 poverty threshold
• Annual income below 41,000 for family of 4
• Families need more than twice poverty level to
  meet basic needs including housing, child care,
  food, and health insurance
  
• 2/3rds of low-income children live in families
  that pay more than 30 of income for housing
  costs (2005)
  
• Vulnerable families who experience eviction,
  utilities shutoffs, severe debt, hunger, unstable
  child care arrangements, foregone medical care
  
• With few assets, they are often one crisis away
  from becoming officially poor
  
• Less likely to qualify for public programs to
  assist
  

Source National Center for Children in Poverty
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Who Are Minnesotas Families in Poverty?

• In 2006, there were 86,000 families in poverty in
  Minnesota (6.5 of families)
  
• Majority are working
• Nearly 3/4ths of families in poverty (63,700)
  have one or more workers in the family
  
• About 1 in 5 families in poverty have 2 or more
  workers
  
• More likely to be headed by an unmarried parent
• 34 of families in poverty have married parents
• 52 unmarried female-headed households
• 14 unmarried male-headed households

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Who Are Minnesotas Children in Poverty?

• In 2006, there were 152,000 children in poverty
  in Minnesota
  
• More than half are white children

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Who Are Minnesotas Children in Poverty?

• But, children of color have a greater chance of
  growing up in poverty
  

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Who Are Minnesotas Children in Poverty?

• Almost 1/3rd of poor children are under age 5
• 50,300 children age 0-4 in poverty
• Poverty rate for children age 0-4 is 14.6,
  compared to 12.2 for all children
  
• Critical developmental window
• Experiencing poverty in early childhood, or
  experiencing persistent poverty, is most harmful
  to children
  
• Most children in poverty are U.S. born, but
  immigrant children have higher poverty rates
  
• 25 of MNs immigrant children live in poverty,
  compared to 10 of children who are U.S. born
  

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Who Are Minnesotas Children in Poverty?

• Many poor children live in rural areas
• About half of states children in poverty live in
  Greater Minnesota
  
• The 8 counties with the highest child poverty
  rates are rural
  

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2004 Child Poverty Rates, by County
Shown in Quartiles
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Trends in Child Poverty
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Children Are The Most Likely Group To Live In
Poverty

• Nationally
• On August 28, Census Bureau released new data
  showing overall poverty rate declined for the
  first time in a decade, to 12.3 in 2006
  
• Poverty among those 65 down to 9.4
• Child poverty rate remained statistically
  unchanged at 17.4
  
• Children are the most likely group of Americans
  to live in poverty
  
• Youngest children (0-4) have the very highest
  rates

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Statewide Trends, 2000-2006Child Poverty Rising

• In Minnesota since 2000
• Child poverty rate increased 35
• Estimated 38,000 more children in poverty
• Extreme poverty rate doubled
• Estimated 31,000 more children in extreme
  poverty
  
• Rates accelerating faster than national
  increases
  
• Since 2003 especially, more children and families
  falling to lower rungs of economic ladder
  

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MN Children in PovertyLess than 100 Poverty,
or 20,500 for 2 parents and 2 children in 2006
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MN Children in Extreme Poverty Less than 50
Poverty, or 10,250 for 2 parents and 2 children
in 2006
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MN Low-income Children Less than 200 Poverty,
or 41,000 for 2 parents and 2 children in 2006
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Adverse Effects of Child Poverty
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Poverty Damages Children

• Poverty impairs childrens healthy growth and
  development, now and in the future
  
• Alters developmental trajectories
• Research documents that children who experience
  poverty are
  
• Less likely to be healthy, both physically and
  mentally
  
• Less likely to gain the education skills they
  need to become productive in the workforce
  
• More likely to become teen parents
• More likely to become arrested and incarcerated

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Poverty Fuels School Failure

• Research reveals a linear relationship between
  family income and childrens achievement
  
• Achievement gap exists at kindergarten and
  persists or widens in higher grades
  
• Math and reading scores negatively related to
  poverty at kindergarten
  
• National data sets on preschool and child care
  show that, at 4 years old, poor children are on
  average, 18 months below the developmental norm
  
• By third grade, low-income children with
  undereducated parents know, on average, 8,000
  fewer vocabulary words than their higher income
  peers

Sources L. Klein and J. Knitzer. (2007)
Promoting effective early learning What every
policymakers should know.National Center for
Children in Poverty E.T. Gershoff (2003)
Low-income and hardship among Americas
kindergartners (Living at the Edge 3), NCCP
V.E. Lee D.T. Burkham (2002) Inequality at the
Starting Gate Social background differences in
achievement as children begin school. Economic
Policy Institute
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Poverty is Unhealthy

• Poor and low-income children are
• More likely to be in fair or poor health
• More likely to be uninsured or underinsured
• More likely to live in unsafe areas, limiting
  time to play outdoors
  
• Less likely to receive preventive health care
• Families less likely to receive advice and
  education from a physician
  
• Uninsured children are
• More likely to develop infections, serious dental
  problems, asthma, diabetes and lead poisoning
  
• More than 5 times more likely to have had an
  unmet need for medical care
  
• Almost twice as likely to have not received a
  well-child check-up in the past year
  
• 4 times more likely to use the emergency room

Sources 2001 National Health Interview Survey
K.T. Young, et. al. (1996) The Commonwealth Fund
Survey of Parents With Young Children
Commonwealth Fund The Road Not Traveled (2006)
Childrens Defense Fund Minnesota National
Center for Children in Poverty
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Poverty Jeopardizes Mental Health

• Low-income children are more likely to be exposed
  to circumstances that impair healthy emotional,
  social development
  
• Parental depression
• Parents substance abuse
• Domestic violence
• Older children in poverty have higher rates of
  diagnosable disorders and learning problems
  
• Issues often translates into dropping out of
  school, or involvement with child welfare or
  juvenile justice systems

Source J. Knitzer and J. Cooper. (2006) Beyond
Integration Challenges for Childrens Mental
Health. Health Affairs National Center for
Children in Poverty
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Child Poverty Costs Us All

• National team of researchers found costs to the
  U.S. associated with childhood poverty total 500
  billion per year, or nearly 4 of GDP
  
• Each year, estimated that child poverty
• Reduces productivity and economic output by 184
  billion
  
• Raises the costs of crime by 170 billion
• Creates health costs of 184 billion
• Report presented to the U.S. House Ways and Means
  Committee earlier this year

Source Harry J. Holzer, et. al. (2007) The
Economic Costs of Poverty in the United States
Subsequent Effects of Children Growing Up Poor.
Center for American Progress
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We Can Solve Child Poverty

• The U.S. cut poverty in half between 1959 and
  1973
  
• United Kingdom example
• In 1999 Tony Blair committed his government to
  ending child poverty in the UK by 2020, cutting
  it in half by 2010
  
• UK has reduced child poverty by more than 50,
  from 3.4 million children in 1999 to 1.6 million
  children in 2006
  
• Using absolute measure of poverty

Source Jane Waldfogel. (2007) Investing in Our
Children The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.
Center for American Progress
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Income Alone Affects Childrens Well-being

• More than a decade of research shows that
  increasing income for families in poverty without
  any other interventions can positively affect
  child development
• Welfare experiments that boosted income
  translated into improved school achievement by
  children
  
• Final MDRC longitudinal evaluation of the
  Minnesota Family Investment Program pilot
  
• Employment gains diminished, but gains in
  childrens school performance held

Sources N.K. Cauthen (2002) Policies that
improve family income matter for children.
National Center for Children in Poverty E.
Dearing, K. McCartney B.A. Taylor (2001)
Change in family income-to-needs matters more
for children with less Child Development V.
Knox, C. Miller, and L. Gennetian (2000)
Reforming Welfare and Rewarding Work A Summary
of the Final Report on the Minnesota Family
Investment Program, MDRC.
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The Early Years Matter For A Lifetime

• Economists have found that strategic investments
  in early childhood yield the greatest public
  return
  
• This is when poverty is most prevalent and most
  damaging
  
• Early years afford the most opportunity to alter
  the developmental arc of children
  
• Set the stage for healthy, productive, successful
  adulthood, citizenship and parenthood

Source J.J. Heckman and D.V. Masterov (2004).
The productivity argument for investing in young
children (Invest in Kids Working Group Working
Paper No. 5). Committee for Economic Development
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For More Information
Comprehensive data about Minnesota child trends
is available in Seven Basic Needs 2007 Minnesota
KIDS COUNT Data Book County poverty rates on page
s 38-39 Does not include most recent 2006 poverty
and income data Visit www.cdf-mn.org Contact An
di Egbert at Childrens Defense Fund MN
651-855-1184 egbert_at_cdf-mn.org