Study: 20% of U.S. kids are poor

LAS VEGAS - A national study on child well-being has found that child poverty increased in 38 states from 2000 to 2009. As a result, 14.7 million children, or 20 percent, were poor in 2009. That represents a 2.5 million increase from 2000, when 17 percent of the nation's youth lived in low-income homes.

According to the study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, to be published today, Nevada had the worst rate in the nation in children living with at least one parent without full-time employment. The state is also home to the most children affected by foreclosures - 13 percent of all Silver State babies, toddlers and teenagers have been kicked out of their homes because of an unpaid mortgage, the study found.

In the foundation's first examination of the impact of the recession on the nation's children, the researchers concluded that low-income children would likely suffer academically, economically and socially long after their parents have recovered.

"People who grew up in a financially secure situation find it easier to succeed in life. They are more likely to graduate from high school, more likely to graduate from college, and these are things that will lead to greater success in life," said Stephen Brown, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "What we are looking at is a cohort of kids who, as they become adults, may be less able to contribute to the growth of the economy. It could go on for multiple generations."

The annual survey monitored by policy makers across the nation concludes that children from low-income families are more likely to be raised in unstable environments and change schools than their wealthier peers. As a result, they are less likely to be gainfully employed as adults.

"Even if you don't care about kids and all you care about is your own well-being, then you ought to be concerned," said Patrick McCarthy, president of the Baltimore-based charity. "We've got to think about what kind of state, what kind of country we can expect to have if we are not investing in the success of our children."

The report found some bright spots.

In the two decades since researchers began compiling the annual report, infant mortalities, child and teen deaths, and high-school dropout rates have declined. But the number of unhealthy babies has increased, and there were far more children living in low-income families.

Mississippi kept its overall last- place ranking in child welfare for the 10th straight year, according to the survey. It was closely trailed by neighboring Louisiana and Alabama, a nod to the widespread poverty that plagues Southern states. The top state for children was New Hampshire, followed by Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Overall, the percent of children living in families in which no parent had full-time employment increased from 27 percent in 2008 to 31 percent in 2009. Black children were nearly twice as likely as white children to have an unemployed parent.