Parents' Low Education Leads to Low Income, Despite Full-Time Employment

Higher education is one of the most effective ways that parents can raise their families’ incomes. There is clear evidence that higher educational attainment is associated with higher earnings. Over the past two decades, parents with less education have been losing economic ground. Policies that support education for low-income parents and children offer them the potential for lasting economic securit

The New Poor: Regional Trends in Child Poverty Since 2000

Child poverty has risen substantially in the last five years after hitting a low in 2000. The largest increases have been seen in the Midwest, where 2.8 million children live in poverty. The regional increase has been the driving force behind the overall increase at the national level. This report examines regional differences in the family characteristics of children who experienced the greatest increases in poverty between 2000 and 2004

Marriage Not Enough to Guarantee Economic Security

Recent public policy initiatives have encouraged low-income parents to marry as a way to become economically stable. But, the data tell a more complex story. Marriage does not guarantee economic security. Not only do the majority of children in single-parent families have parents who were previously married, more than one in four children with married parents is low income. Even when married, some demographic groups are particularly likely to be low income, which is defined as earning less than twice the poverty level—the minimum necessary to meet families' most basic needs. Among Latinos, more than half of children with married parents are low income. In rural and suburban areas, the majority of low-income children have married parents. Despite high levels of employment, many married parents remain low income. Among children with low-income married parents, a full 95 percent have at least one parent who is employed, and 41 percent have two employed parents

Many Children with Married Parents Are Low Income

Recent public policy initiatives have encouraged low-income parents to marry as a means of attaining economic security. But, the data tell a more complex story. Marriage does not guarantee economic security. Not only do the majority of children in single-parent families have parents who were previously married, but over a quarter of children with married parents are low income

Do States’ Immigrant-Friendly Policies Improve the Health of Children of Immigrants? The Impact of Driver’s License Policies for Undocumented Immigrants and “Sanctuary” Policies on Access and Use of Health Care

If 10.5 million undocumented immigrants are unable or afraid to access health care, medical needs will go unmet and, in the face of COVID-19, lives may be lost. This report explores how immigrant-friendly policies increase the chances that children of immigrants receive preventative health care, thus reducing the likelihood of having unmet medical needs and potentially reducing the chances of disease outbreaks.https://educate.bankstreet.edu/gse/1004/thumbnail.jp

Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Children under 18 Years, 2016

Among all children under 18 years in the U.S., 41 percent are low-income children and 19 percent—approximately one in five—are poor. This means that children are overrepresented among our nation’s poor; they represent 23 percent of the population but comprise 32 percent of all people in poverty. Many more children live in families with incomes just above the poverty threshold. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children’s experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics of children and their parents. It highlights the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their more advantaged counterparts

Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Children under 9 Years, 2016

Among all children under 18 years in the U.S., 41 percent live in lowincome families and 19 percent—approximately one in five—are poor. This means that children are overrepresented among our nation’s poor; they represent 23 percent of the population but comprise 32 percent of all people in poverty. Many more children live in families with incomes just above the poverty threshold. Young children—those under age 9 years—appear to be particularly vulnerable, with 44 percent living in low-income families, including 21 percent living in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children’s experience of economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic characteristics of young children and their parents. It highlights important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor young children from their less disadvantaged counterparts

Health and Social Service Needs of US-Citizen Children with Detained or Departed Immigrant Parents

The second report offers findings from fieldwork in five study sites in California, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas, examining the involvement of families with a deported parent with health and social service systems, as well as their needs and the barriers they face accessing such services. The researchers find that family economic hardship is highly prevalent following parental detention and deportation, while child welfare system involvement is rarer. Schools represent a promising avenue for interaction with these families and delivery of services, as school officials cannot inquire about immigration status and thus are perceived as safer intermediaries by unauthorized immigrant parents who may be skeptical of interaction with other government agencies. Other important sources of support include health providers, legal service providers and community- and faith-based organizations that immigrants trust

Dropping Out and Clocking In: A Portrait of Teens Who Leave School Early and Work

During the needs assessment for Langley Park, a Latino Promise Neighborhood outside Washington, DC, the Urban Institute went into the community expecting to find a significant proportion of young people out of school and unemployed but instead found something else (Scott et al. 2014). The rates of disconnected youth were on par with national averages, but nearly 40 percent of young people between the ages of 16 and 19 were working and not in school. This raises several questions. Is this trend specific to this neighborhood, Latinos, or first- and second-generation immigrants? Or is it a clue to a larger trend

Basic Facts about Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 18

For comparable information about infants and toddlers, see Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 3, or about young children, see Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 6. This fact sheet includes children who live apart from both parents (for example, foster children or children being raised by grandparents). Previous versions of this fact sheet counted children living apart from parents differently; therefore, comparisons with versions published prior to September 2006 are not valid