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People often boast that the U.S. is the best country in the world, and it certainly is a beautiful place where citizens enjoy many freedoms. That said, we are falling short when it comes to delivering a level playing field for future generations.
Research from U.S. News and World Report indicates that about 19 percent of children live in households below the poverty line — $25,339 annually for a family of four. While some regions fare better than others (children in the Northeast are generally better off), the idea that a child’s success could depend on where he or she grows up is deeply troubling.
Poverty is closely linked to a number of challenging factors that shape kids’ lives, including substandard housing, unsafe neighborhoods, and a lack of access to healthcare or adequate childcare. Kids in these conditions face higher risks of physical health problems, psychological health issues, incarceration, teenage pregnancy, and school dropouts.
These heightened risks hurt society both directly and indirectly. A report from Social Work Research revealed that childhood poverty cost the U.S. $1.03 trillion in 2015, yet each dollar invested in alleviating child poverty could save at least $7 in total economic costs.
Considering the wealth of resources we have in this country, I struggle with the idea of children needing to live with so little. This is part of the reason my wife and I decided to start a foundation to oversee charitable and community activities to help children in our home state of Texas and across the U.S. We largely focus on social and educational support for these kids, including coordinating educational and after-school programs for at-risk youth.
While every step society takes to solve this pressing problem is important, we need to be doing a lot more as a nation to eliminate the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Child poverty, like many problems, is complex. Thanks to the hard work of nonprofits and community organizations — often partnering with government programs — society can create meaningful solutions.
The movement must begin with food. One of the most significant problems with poverty is an obvious one: hunger. Poor kids often do not get enough food or nutrition. The stress of food insecurity weighs heavily on children. This affects physical development, behavior, psychological well-being, and focus and learning in school.
One in six — or 13 million — children live in homes with inconsistent access to food, according to the USDA. Federal nutrition programs such as free lunches; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are changing lives by making healthful foods more accessible to low-income families.
A report from IZA Institute of Labor Economics showed that children in the bottom fourth percentile of family income who received free school lunches eventually increased their salaries about 5.5 percent over their lifetimes. That increase reflected benefits seven times larger than the cost of the meals.
Once food needs are handled, our attention must shift to troubling education gaps. School districts might cover nearly every mile of the country, but support services and high-quality education do not. Limited access to high-quality childcare or educational programs puts intense stress on low-income parents.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recently released research showing that children born into poverty have lower volume of gray matter — where information is processed — in their brains than their counterparts from middle-income backgrounds. These differences exist in infants as young as 5 weeks old. One cause could be that low-income children hear fewer words at home — perhaps as many as 30 million fewer words by age 5. This lack of exposure can cause difficulties and a lack of interest in reading as kids grow older.
To help parents fill in these educational and developmental gaps, federal and state governments are creating an increasing number of grants. This March, Congress approved a massive increase in funding for the Child Care Development Block Grants program, doubling the program’s budget to more than $5.2 billion. This funding will help states better support childhood development and education — ideally in areas where it can make a significant difference.
Beyond nutritional and educational needs, children desperately need stability at home. More than 1.3 million kids in our public school system do not have safe places to call home. Beyond immediate concerns, this also makes those children more susceptible to homelessness later in life.
Ideally, families would receive permanent housing paired with supportive services. This often takes time, which means short-term solutions are often necessary for these families. Our nation needs nonprofits like Volunteers of America that provide emergency homeless shelters along with transitional programs that get families into permanent housing as quickly as possible.
Beyond housing help, parents and caretakers need guidance in managing their money and making the most of a limited income. The nonprofit Compass Working Capital does excellent work providing financial counseling to low-income families. The organization helps reduce the financial strain of paying for housing while teaching families how to budget, pay down debt, and save.
By focusing on these areas, we can give impoverished kids the same advantages their middle-class counterparts already receive and shift the trajectory of their lives. We simply need to connect the dots and get resources to these children so they feel safe, fed, and comfortable enough to learn and grow. When children receive the start to life they deserve, society will benefit.
Photo: Getty Images