Changing The Odds For The Next Generation

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According to a new report posted on the Urban Institute almost half of all children born into poverty remain in poverty throughout their lives. In their report on Childhood Poverty Persistence the authors point out that “49 percent of American babies born into poor families will be poor for at least half their childhoods…Among children who are not poor at birth, only 4 percent will be “persistently” poor as children.”

As our economy struggles to recover from the Great Recession, which know has meant rising levels of children living in poverty, reports like this are discouraging. In California alone, nearly a quarter of the state’s children could be living beneath the federal poverty line due to the recent recession.

Almost of half of all children born into poverty remain in poverty as adults

The report suggests that helping provide families with multiple supports such as income assistance, child care subsidies, and opportunities for education can help mitigate the chance of passing poverty on to the next generation. This is very much in keeping with our strategies for poverty reduction through programs like our SparkPoint Centers which combine multiple programs over time, to help families.

Some of the report’s other findings include:

  • 13 percent of all children (40 percent of black children and 8 percent of white children) are born poor.
  • 37 percent of children live in poverty for at least a year before reaching age 18.
  • 10 percent of children spend at least half their childhood years (9 years or longer) in poverty.
  • Black children are 9 times more likely than white children to be poor for at least three-quarters of their childhoods — 18 percent versus 2 percent.
  • 69 percent of black children and 31 percent of white children who are poor at birth stay poor for least half their childhoods.

Caroline Ratcliffe and Signe-Mary McKernan, the authors of “Childhood Poverty Persistence: Facts and Consequences, go on to say that “Because poverty status at birth is linked to worse adult outcomes, targeting resources to children born into poverty and their families would help particularly vulnerable people. “

United Way Celebrates New Children's Health Clinic

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Retired Widenmann Elementary School Principal MaBella Gonzales visits an exam room named in her honor in the school's new health center. Gonzales retired last year after 11 years as the school's principal.

In May, United Way gathered with community leaders from the North Vallejo Health Collaborative to celebrate the grand opening of a children’s health center at Vallejo’s Elsa Widenmann Elementary School.   United Way provided a $100,000 grant to support the clinic.  The grant is one of our many investments in Community Schools, which bring essential services to families and students on school campuses, leveraging them as community hubs.

Before the launch, the only school-based health center in Solano County was located at Pennycook Elementary School in east Vallejo.

“Children who are in poor health have a difficult time achieving in the classroom. By offering health services to families where their children attend school, the Health Center at Widenmann Elementary makes it easier and much more convenient for parents and caregivers to ensure children receive the care they need, so they can stay healthy and focus on school work,” said Aimee Durfee, United Way’s Vice President of Community Investments for the North Bay region.

The new health center — funded by grants from United Way, SH Cowell, McKesson, and Kaiser, as well as in-kind support from Vallejo Unified School District and a host of other local agencies — makes the vision for a second school-based health center in Solano County a reality.

The clinic hopes to serve 250 children during its first year. Services are available to students of the Vallejo City Unified School District and their siblings who are uninsured or under-insured. For more information call (707) 556-8921, extension 56549.

Widenmann students enjoy the celebration

Services delivered through the health center include:

  • Immunizations
  • Regular physicals, sports physicals
  • Sick childcare and treatment
  • Lab services
  • Health and prevention education
  • Dental screenings
  • Health insurance enrollment
  • Referrals to community-support agencies

Read the Times-Herald newspaper article about the clinic’s grand opening.

The North Vallejo Collaborative is a collaboration of agencies that support and/or provide services through the health center to students and families. Those agencies include:

  • Vallejo City Unified School District
  • Fighting Back Partnership
  • United Way of the Bay Area
  • First 5 Solano
  • Bay Area Partnership for Children and Youth
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • Touro University
  • Children’s Nurturing Project
  • Solano County Health & Social Services/Mental Health
 
  • McKesson Foundation
  • Soroptimist International of Vallejo
  • Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo
  • La Clinica Vallejo
  • Solano County Chapter of the Links. Inc
  • Solano County Substance Abuse Division
  • Solano Kids Insurance Program
  • Solano Community Foundation
  • Solano Coalition for Better Health

Rising Numbers of Children Living in Poverty

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The number of families with children going hungry is on the rise

According to an alarming article in today’s USA Today, “the rate of children living in poverty this year will climb to nearly 22%, the highest rate in two decades, according to an analysis by the non-profit Foundation for Child Development. Nearly 17% of children were living in poverty in 2006, before the recession began.”

The report tracked 28 key statistics relating to children such as health insurance coverage, infant mortality, and preschool.

The worry, of course, is that the so-called ‘Great Recession’ could wipe out many of the gains that families with children had made over the previous two decades.  The rise of poverty amongst this population can have far-reaching consequences since being poor sometimes yields even more poverty.  For instance, children suffering food insecurity may show up hungry to their classes, which could inhibit their concentration causing them to fall behind in their academic work.

Though this report certainly doesn’t tell the whole story about poverty, it raises a lot of interesting concerns for us here as well. Though the specific numbers cited  in this article are national, the reality is quite similar in the Bay Area. According to our recent report on the issue, more than 440,000 households are struggling to make ends meet. And having a job is not enough.  Most of these families – 86% in fact – have at least one wage earner but still can’t pay for their household’s basic needs.
Read the full article here.

To learn more about the problems facing Bay Area families take a look at United Way’s report, Struggling To Make Ends Meet.