Racial Equity

Challenging the wrongs of childhood poverty

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Three years ago, historic policies cut child poverty in half, but since the expiration of these federal investments, child poverty has increased. Barbara Jordan, an educator who was the first Black Texas Senator and the first southern Black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, once said, If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority.” Her words resonate today as recent Census Bureau data shows child poverty is increasing—a societal wrong demanding urgent attention.

Every September, the Census Bureau releases poverty, income, and health insurance data. These data paint a picture of our present society. If we apply Jordan’s directive to childhood poverty, any child living in poverty is too many. Children who grow up in poverty experience immediate effects, such as housing insecurity and food insecurity. Researchers have found the longer a child lives in poverty, the higher the chances are for them to live in poverty as adults. Tracking child poverty data is crucial to understanding where policy choices have succeeded and where reforms are needed to challenge systemic inequities.

The Census Bureau reports child poverty using two different measures—the official poverty measure (OPM) and the supplemental poverty measure (SPM). In 2023, the official poverty measure (OPM), which only considers pretax income, revealed a child poverty rate of 15.3%, which was statistically unchanged from 2022. The supplemental poverty measure (SPM), which is preferred by researchers due to its consideration of non-cash benefits, showed a more than 1% increase in the child poverty rate – from 12.4% in 2022 to 13.7% in 2023. This is the second year in a row that child poverty rates have increased following a historic decline in child poverty in 2021. Pandemic-era policies were key to cutting child poverty in half, and their expiration has contributed to this troubling reversal.

SPM Child Poverty Rate

Where a child grows up or their racial identity can impact a child’s likelihood of living in poverty. Additional data from the American Community Survey (ACS) can help us to understand what is happening at the community-level. Using the official poverty measure, ACS data reveals that 16% of children were living in poverty in 2023. Within WKKF-named places, child poverty rates were higher than the national child poverty rate impacting 32% of New Orleans children, 18% of Michigan children, 23% of Mississippi children and 25% of New Mexico children. When disaggregated by race, children of color face disproportionately higher rates of poverty. Black children face more than double the overall child poverty rate in Louisiana, Michigan and Mississippi, while Indigenous children face more than double the overall child poverty rate in New Mexico. These geographic and racial inequities reveal societal wrongs, which we cannot let go unchallenged.

ACS Child Poverty Rate by Racial/Ethnic Identity

To right the wrongs of child poverty, we must understand the policies that shaped the conditions for poverty to persist and examine policies that can help alleviate poverty in the future. Pandemic-era policies, such as cash payments to families to curb financial hardships and expanded benefits to increase food access, childcare affordability and health care coverage, demonstrated that investments in children’s basic needs are key to eliminating child poverty. Recent research has shown public investments in children pay off. Currently, the federal government invests $500 billion in children each year, yet public spending on children has declined as pandemic-era investments end and they are expected to continue to decline over the next decade. The rise in child poverty coupled with the decline in public spending on children requires us to meet this moment with courage and resources to challenge the deep inequities facing children and families.

Poverty is a policy choice, but it doesn’t have to be the norm. As we enter a new year, let’s remember that child poverty rates represent real children who deserve policies that lift them out of poverty and give them the opportunity to thrive. Our grantees and partners know this and they are committed to righting the wrongs of child poverty regardless of the policy landscape. As a foundation, we invest in children through policy advocacy and organizing work, which is critical to achieving life-changing policies like those seen during the pandemic. Moving forward, we can disrupt these wrongs together by investing in strategies that increase public investments and advocate for proactive policies to alleviate child poverty. Through these efforts, we can ensure that child poverty does not have the approval of the majority.

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