Poverty Rate

Hispanics are expected by 1990 to replace blacks as the ethnic group with the highest poverty rate in the nation, according to one analysis of recent Census Bureau data. While income levels among blacks are rising, Hispanics are losing ground and per-capita income among Hispanics is now lower than that for blacks, according to the study. The study noted that the black poverty rate of 31.3 percent last year was about the same as it was in 1979. But the poverty rate for Hispanics increased from 21.8 percent to 29 percent during the same six-year period, said the center, which based its findings on U.S. Census data.

The nation's median household income climbed to an all-time high last year while the poverty rate for children dipped to an 18-year low, the Census Bureau reported yesterday. The 1998 figures marked the fourth consecutive year of growth for overall household income as the strong economy, record unemployment, and low inflation continued to shower benefits across all regions of the country and all segments of the population. Alaska led all states, with median household income of $51,421, using a three-year average (1996-98)

The school district has received $95,000 from the state for technology and training for students and teachers - a grant that many thought was impossible to get, according to officials. Superintendent Gary Dentino said the district had purchased 37 computers and seven printers and planned to spend more money on staffing Web masters. "A lot of people in general thought that this couldn't be done," Dentino said of the grant, which the district received earlier this month. "We don't have a high poverty rate, and demographically we're not a poor town.

Many of America's poor children have no future and no hope of improving their lot, and their bleak prospects threaten to overwhelm even the most booming cities, the nation's mayors said yesterday. From substance abuse to deteriorating public schools to teen-age pregnancy and a lack of adequate child care, the U.S. Conference of Mayors ticked off problems they said threaten to overwhelm even the most booming metropolises. Officials said low-income children are confronted with the additional problems of homelessness and the lack of access to medical and mental health care.

It's no surprise to see Philadelphia listed as the poorest among America's 10 largest cities. It's held that distinction before. But placing last again is disappointing, and points out the need for public officials to work even harder to create jobs. U.S. census figures released Tuesday put the city's poverty rate at 25 percent, compared with about 14 percent nationally. The recession exacerbated the problem, with record numbers applying for food aid. One out of three children in Philadelphia is poor.

An alarming new study shows more New Jersey residents than ever are struggling to provide for their families. A record 885,000 people in the state lived below the poverty line in 2010, according to the study released Sunday by the Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute. The poverty rate increased from 9.4 percent in 2009 to 10.3 percent in 2010, based on the latest census figures available. Among the poor were 300,000 children, the state's most vulnerable and neediest residents.

The national poverty rate fell slightly last year, its first decline in a decade, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released yesterday. Yet while the median household income rose, it remained below 1999 levels in terms of buying power, and real wages fell for a third straight year. "I'm putting in longer and longer hours, and I'm looking for a second part-time job," said Donna Waldemarra, 44, of Newtonville, N.J., who works as a receptionist at a car dealership. "It's very tight.

The percentage of households receiving food stamps in Philadelphia increased by nearly 3 percentage points between 2007 and 2008 - the period of time marking the start of the recession - according to figures released yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau. And that number is only expected to rise, according to Rachel Meeks, food-stamp campaign manager for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger. "Numbers are going up pretty dramatically because of the economy," Meeks said yesterday.

WASHINGTON - Working-age America is the new face of poverty. Counting adults 18 to 64 who were laid off in the recent recession as well as single twentysomethings still looking for jobs, the new working-age poor represent nearly 3 out of 5 poor people, a switch from the early 1970s, when children made up the main impoverished group. While much of the shift in poverty is due to demographic changes - Americans are having fewer children than before - the now-weakened economy and limited government safety net for workers are heightening the effect.

Gov. Ridge has issued promising guidelines for next year's state budget that suggest new initiatives to improve preschool readiness, health insurance "outreach" to children and child-care options for low-income parents. Under this governor, Pennsylvania has mostly struggled to stitch together such threads of a safety net for the children of the working poor and those leaving welfare for work. The failure to make more progress has been hard to defend - especially given Pennsylvania's spotty use of the federal funds available for states to help former welfare recipients being moved into the low-wage workforce by tough-minded reforms.