Facts In Action

For the second year in a row the majority of newly poor Americans are children finds the Children’s Defense Fund’s analysis of recently released U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2003, earnings less than $14,824 for a family of three were considered living in poverty. The number of people living in poverty rose to a total of 35.9 million, with 12.9 million of these being children. The racial group that experienced the largest increase was Latino; 30% of all Latino children currently live in poverty. Increasing by 232,000 children, one in three black children are poor. The Children’s Defense Fund analysis also found that the majority of the newly poor children, half a million, live in a household with a single mother. The Children’s Defense Fund ultimately advocates that the United States must commit itself to ending child poverty.

For additional information http://www.childrensdefense.org/familyincome/childpoverty/
definingpoverty.pdfEditor's Note: this url is no longer active.http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/
definingpoverty.pdf?docID=390]

Facts in Action, October 2004