What’s measured The study gauges the percentage of children, by county, living at or below the poverty level from 2000 through 2004. The U.S. Census produces Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates for children under the age of 18, using federally-defined poverty thresholds. The census develops data by obtaining for each county an account of claimed child exemptions on tax returns, number of food-stamp recipients, resident population under the age of 18, and an estimate of residents in poverty under the age of 18 based on the 2000 Census. The regional indicator is an un-weighted average of the 14-counties’ child poverty rates. Why it’s measured Child poverty rates by county indicate where the most vulnerable children live within this region. In addition, child poverty rate is also tracked to target initiatives for children in poverty and to assist institutions to know how and where to place resources. Child poverty has an impact on many other areas important to regional quality of life, such as education, workforce preparedness, and health. Indicator results The county average child poverty rate for 2004 was 17.9%, up from 2000’s rate of 15.1%. While the regional county average child poverty rate increased during this five-year window, most of the increase came in 2000-2003, with the rate stabilizing between 2003 and 2004. During these last two years of the data, eight North Carolina counties saw child poverty rates decrease (some noticeably, others negligibly) while others experienced modest increases (of about two percent of the indicator value, or less than half a percentage point in the poverty rate). All three South Carolina counties experienced increases, ranging from 3 to 7 percent of the indicator value, or about one percentage point in the poverty rates. From 2000 to 2004, the 14-county region witnessed a 19 percent increase in the child poverty rate (from 15.1% to 17.9 %), bringing the percentage of children living in poverty to more than one in six. By county, the largest increases came in Cabarrus (from 10.5% to 14.4%), Mecklenburg (from 12.2% to 16.7%) and York (from 12.6% to 17.0%). For the state of South Carolina as a whole, figures increased from 18.2% in 2000 to 21.2% in 2004, a 16 percent gain. North Carolina increased from 16.5% to 18.7% for the same years, a 13 percent rise. Although lower than either of the two state’s rates from 2000 through 2004, the region’s child poverty rate increased faster than either of the two state’s rates during that time period. Nationally during this time period the child poverty rate declined (from 16.2% to 12.7%). Therefore, the regional average has gone from slightly lower than the national average to substantially higher. Evaluation The lackluster performance of the region and the two states on this indicator compares unfavorably with the national improvement in child poverty rates. If the region’s economic competitiveness is to be sustained, the child poverty rates of the region’s counties must be improved. Children are poor because the adults they live with are poor. High fertility rates among poor families and the higher prevalence of single parent families among the poor leads to substantially higher poverty rates for children than for adults. Further investigation is needed into the specific underlying causes of child poverty in the Carolinas and the region, and into the national success in reducing child poverty rates. Connections Child poverty is connected to many facets of social well-being throughout the region. It indicates assistance needed for children, whether through medical, educational, economic or social means, to one of the region’s most vulnerable group: children. The continued assessment of children living in poverty is required to maintain a healthy and upwardly mobile population.
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