Children in Poverty Racial Disparity

Children in Poverty Racial Disparity in United States

United States

Large and persistent racial/ethnic disparities exist among children living in poverty in the United States. Approximately 9% of American children under the age of 9 live in deep poverty (below 50% of the federal poverty level). Significant variation exists among different racial/ethnic groups living in deep poverty, ranging from 5% of non-Hispanic white children to 18% of non-Hispanic Black children. Families with incomes below the federal poverty level may struggle to meet the basic needs of their children. 

Across all age groups, Black and Hispanic populations have remained consistently overrepresented in poverty. The persistence of poverty across generations is more common among Black than white families. Studies show that Black children who experience a year or more of childhood poverty are twice as likely as their white counterparts to experience adulthood poverty.

The prevalence of childhood poverty is higher among:

• Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children, who have a prevalence approximately three times higher than that of Asian and white children. 
• Children of single-mother compared with children who live in two-parent households or in single-father households. Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children are most likely to live in single-parent households.
• Children ages 0-5 compared with older children across all racial and ethnic groups.

Recent innovations to mitigate the adverse effects of childhood poverty use the two-generation approach, which promotes family resilience by combining support and education programs for parents with early childhood intervention programs to create a stronger whole-family experience.

Many government programs and community interventions exist to help reduce the number of children in poverty and support low-income families:

The earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest U.S. poverty-alleviation program, provides a tax credit to employed families and individuals living in poverty. Research shows the benefits of the program include decreased prevalence of low birth weight and preterm birth infants and increased prevalence of breastfeeding. One study calculated that an annual $3,000 from the EITC for a family with a child younger than 5 will cause an average 19% increase in future earnings for the child.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to families in need.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food and nutritional support specifically to pregnant and postpartum women and children. WIC has been associated with a lower prevalence of low birth weight infants, with greater gains among women with low education.

Child First is a comprehensive program that provides financial, housing and food help and early childhood interventions for low-income families. 

Medicaid provides health care to low-income adults, pregnant women and children.

Universal basic income programs can provide those living in poverty with regular cash transfers to meet basic needs regardless of employment status, age or other restrictive conditions.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine proposed four policy packages that would reduce child poverty by 24%-52% while using existing policy options to maximize effectiveness.

While not specific to children, reducing the proportion of people living in poverty is a Healthy People 2030 economic stability objective.

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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty. Edited by Greg Duncan and Suzanne Le Menestrel. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.17226/25246.

Nguyen, Uyen Sophie, Sheila Smith, and Maribel R. Granja. “Young Children in Deep Poverty: Racial/Ethnic Disparities and Child Well-Being Compared to Other Income Groups.” New York: National Center for Children in Poverty, Bank Street Graduate School of Education, 2020. https://www.nccp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Deep-Poverty-Report-11.11.20_Final.pdf.

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Wilson-Simmons, Renée, Yang Jiang, and Yumiko Aratani. “Strong at the Broken Places: The Resiliency of Low-Income Parents.” New York: National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, April 2017. https://www.nccp.org/publication/strong-at-the-broken-places/.