Brookings Institution Center on Children & Families
A new study suggests that the economic recession will continue to affect national poverty levels over the next several years, with the number of children living in poverty increasing by 6 million children by 2014.
The Census Bureau recently reported that 14.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty in 2009. Using this data as a baseline, the authors of the study projected that the overall poverty rate will increase to 16 percent in 2014, with the child poverty rate rising from 18 percent in 2007 to as much as 26 percent in 2014.
The authors add that “there is a strong possibility that the estimates we present here are conservative, given that we do not know how dramatic of an effect the current recession will have on structural employment in the future.” They suggest increasing federal funding for Food Stamps and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which provides monthly cash payments to parents or guardians to care for the children living with them.
Free, 5 pages, http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2010/0916_poverty_monea_sawhill/0916_poverty_monea_sawhill.pdf.
