Child poverty on the rise in America: ‘Kids Count’ report

The 2012 edition of the ‘Kids Count’ report, one of the most widely quoted surveys on the situation of children in the United States, indicates that child poverty is mounting in the US.

The report is published annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, one of the largest private charitable organizations dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children in the US. Relying predominantly on US Census data the report stated that the percentage of poor children in America increased by almost a third between 2000 and 2010 and that it saw an increase of 16 percent between 2005 and 2010.
According to the report in the period roughly overlapping with the first two years of the global recession, which began in 2008, the rate of children with parents who lack secure employment rose by 22 percent.
The report said that ever since 2010, 1 out of 11 teenagers was neither in school nor working, while 4 out of 10 children were living in households where the cost of accommodation was high. Yet another surprising revelation of the report was that there had been an increase of 22 percent in the number of kids living in high-poverty neighborhoods compared with 2005.
The repost also touched on the problem of teen-pregnancy in the US and young parents who risk of losing their children to the country’s foster-care system.