#15 Child Poverty
What?
Key issues visualized by region
Poverty thresholds and guidelines are set by the U.S. government to show the minimum income needed for a family’s basic needs like food, housing, and clothing.
Children who live in families whose total income falls below this threshold are considered to be living in poverty. Poverty thresholds and guidelines are the same across the U.S. regardless of actual living costs.
The data focuses on children in families earning less than the poverty level.
Child poverty can be a risk factor. A higher percentage is less desirable.
Data Source: Policy Map. (2017-2021). Children (under 18 years) who live in poverty. [Data warehouse]
So What?
Explanation of the issue
Children who grow up in poverty, especially from a young age or for a long time, face many health and developmental challenges throughout their lives. Poverty can affect many specific areas such as birth weight, infant death rates, language development, chronic illnesses, environmental exposures, nutrition, and injuries. It can also impact how genes function and how the brain develops due to exposure to toxic stress, which is stress that is too intense or lasts too long without the support of caring relationships.
Poverty can also affect a child’s mental health. Children and parents in low-income families are more likely to face mental health challenges, which can hurt a child’s ability to do well in school. Children living in poverty often struggle with self-control, attention, impulsivity, defiance, and making friends. These problems can also increase the chances of children getting involved with child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
Poor children are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty. These neighborhoods often have problems with school performance, behavior, social issues, and health. Children in these areas may also face environmental risks like malnutrition, pollution, food insecurity, housing instability, economic hardship, lead exposure, violence, and crime.
Because of income inequality, poor children are more likely to attend schools with fewer resources, less funding from local taxes, and less parental involvement because parents work long, low-wage jobs. These schools often have inadequate facilities and higher turnover rates among school leaders.
Children can be born into poverty, stay poor throughout childhood, or move in and out of poverty over time. Children who are born into and stay in poverty are at the highest risk of bad outcomes, but even short periods of poverty can cause problems like not having enough food, unstable housing or homelessness, losing health care, and school disruptions.
Types of Health Outcomes & Behaviors Associated with This Condition
The four Health Outcomes and Behaviors domains are (1) Smoking, Drugs, and Alcohol, (2) Safety, (3) Physical and Mental Health, and (4) Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes. Click to see a list of the conditions associated with each domain.
Now What?
Strategies in which either policy, investments, or interventions can impact the issue
These were chosen with an emphasis on the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of children from infancy through adolescence. This focus was selected to streamline and narrow the range of strategies. When you click on the links, you’ll be redirected to a third-party site.
