Plans for Alternate Poverty Measure Announced
March 3, 2010: The U.S. Census Bureau announced yesterday that an alternative measure of poverty status is being developed. The new method would better reflect the reality faced by low-income families and help identify better ways in which current government programs can be utilized. The traditional poverty measure is largely considered to be outdated and does not accurately reflect the ways low income families today are struggling. The new supplemental measure will provide a more accurate picture of household budgets, and whether families are able to meet their most basic needs. Learn more about the current poverty measure and ways it could be changed for the better by viewing a short video presentation from Half in Ten.

Improving Access to Public Benefits
February 24, 2010: A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation calls for improved outreach efforts to increase public awareness of eligibility requirements, complicated application processes, and other barriers which prohibit eligible low-income and unemployed families being unable to access public benefits and other resources. The report also calls for new technology-based tools to ease application processes. Learn more when you read Improving Access to Public Benefits: Helping Eligible Individuals and Families Get the Income Support They Need.

Effect of the Recession on Children in Poverty
February 1, 2010: First Focus has released an analysis of poverty statistics of 2008, and the resulting growth in need for 2009. Findings indicate that nearly one in five children under age 18  lived in poor families in 2008, and child poverty is expected to have been driven even higher in 2009. The report also analyzes growth in SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefit participation. Read the full report here.

Food Hardship: A Closer Look at Hunger
January 25, 2010: Data released from the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) reveal the extent to which Americans are struggling to afford enough food in every Congressional District and in 100 of the country's largest metropolitan areas. The food hardship rate is high for households with children. Respondents in such households reported food hardship at at rate 1.62 times that of other households- 24.1% versus 14.9% in 2009. For households with children, in 22 states one quarter or more of respondents reported food hardship. Click to access Food Hardship: A Closer Look at Hunger.

Study: Half of U.S. Children will be on Food Stamps in Their Lifetime
November 6, 2009: Researchers from the University of Washington and Cornell University have completed an analysis of thirty years of  longitudinal data to conclude that nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black children will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the recession could push the numbers higher. The analysis, was released in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, found that households in need of the program use it for relatively short periods of time but are also likely to return to the program at several points during the childhood years. Access more information about the study here.

Neighborhoods and the Black-White Mobility Gap
September 8, 2009: A report from the Economic Mobility Project examines the impact of neighborhood poverty rates experienced during childhood on economic mobility. Among the findings, the brief reports that experiencing high neighborhood poverty throughout childhood strongly increases the risk of falling down the income ladder. Access the full report here.

The Need for a Better Poverty Measure
September 3, 2009: The federal poverty measure, the standard which is meant to shape our understanding of who is poor, how many people are in poverty, and how much poverty increases or decreases when policy changes are made, is flawed and does not provide an accurate picture of the reality of poverty. Federal legislation is being considered that would make changes to the poverty measure based on recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences. Click here to view a memorandum from the Center for American Progress.  

New Report Outlines Seven Strategies to Achieve President's Goal of Ending Child Hunger by 2015
July 2, 2009: Strategies outlined in a new report from FRAC focus on both improving and expanding the nation's nutrition programs, including SNAP/Food Stamps, WIC and the school meals and summer, afterschool and child care nutrition programs. Strengthening these programs will both bolster the economy and strenghthen supports for working families trying to move out of poverty. Access the report here.

Report: Economy Will Recover From Recession,
Children Will Not
May 29, 2009 - According to new First Focus report children who fall into poverty durning an economic recession fare worse far into adulthood than their peers who avoided it all together. Specifically, children who are forced into poverty earn less, achieve lower levels of education, and are less likely to be gainfully employed over their lifetimes than those who avoided poverty. In addition, these children are more likely to be in poor health as adults.

Economic Recession is Testing Welfare Reform
April 27, 2009: An article in Forbes Magazine describes the welfare reforms enacted in 1996 which are being tested by the economic recession. Welfare reform ended automatic entitlements to federal assistance and set a five-year time limit on benefits. However, welfare reform assumed that a large number of low-wage jobs would be created to employ those leaving welfare, and the recession has made low-wage jobs less available. Access the article here.

The Fiscal Consequences of Dropping Out of High School in RI
April 23, 2009: The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce has released a new report, The Fiscal Consequences of Dropping Out of High School in Rhode Island. The report details the impact of educational attainment on lifetime earnings, expected lifetime tax payments, and lifetime transfer costs and incarceration costs. Click here to view the report.

Analysis of Budget Provisions Impacting Economic Well-Being
April 21, 2009- Governor Carcieri has released the FY2010 Budget, which contains implications for children and family's economic well-being. View an analysis of FY10 budget provisions impacting economic well-being prepared by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.

SNAP/Food Stamps Summary from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
April 13, 2009- The Food Stamp Program has changed its name to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), but that's not all that's new within the program. View an Overview of Changes to the Food Stamp/SNAP Affecting Rhode Island Families with Children, prepared by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, for information on the most recently implemented changes affecting the program.  

New Issue Brief on Child Poverty
April 13, 2009: A new Child Trends issue brief, Children in Poverty: Trends, Consequences, and Policy Options uses 2007 Census data to present a statistical portrait of children in the US. The brief highlights consequences of poverty for children and suggests program and policy approaches that hold promise for decreasing poverty among low-income children and their families. Among the trends reported, the brief found that children are nearly twice as likely as adults to be poor. The brief also reports on substantial racial disparities for among child poverty rates.

Federal Economic Recovery Package Includes Help for Family Income Supports
February 5, 2009: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 includes several proposals for increased funding/suuport of important programs that affect children and families. Regarding income supports, proposals include: an increase in the maximum food stamp benefit and increased funding to states to manage higher food stamp caseloads; additional reductions in the income threshold required for the Child Tax Credit, which would allow more low-income households to claim a child tax credit; and establishment of an emergency contingency fund for TANF to provide matching grants to states with caseload expansions. For more information, view a CBPP report on the Economic Recovery Package.

Early Childhood Poverty has Impact Long into Adulthood

Impact of Poverty in Early Childhood Lasts Well into Adulthood
A study tracking the lives of children born between 1968 and 1975 found that poverty during the period when children are infants to age 5 has a lasting detrimental impact on outcomes related to attainment such as earnings and hours worked. Negative impacts from poverty during this early period could be measured as late as age 37. Subsequent periods of poverty, when children were older, had fewer effects. Greg Duncan, University of California, and colleagues found that an increase in income of $3,000 per year between a child’s prenatal year and fifth birthday is associated with 19 percent higher earnings and an increase in hours worked.