Children’s Well-Being Stagnant Since 2000
August 23, 2011 by Irene Sege
The well-being of children in the United States has stagnated since 2000, after improving over the mid- to late 1990s, and the economic downturn affects millions of children, according to the 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. One in five children lives in poverty, with 2009 income for a family of four falling below $21,756. This is up from 17% in 2000. And 11% of the nation’s children had at least one unemployed parent in 2010.
Massachusetts, overall, fared better than most of the nation, ranking third behind New Hampshire and Minnesota. In the Bay State, 13% of children live in families with incomes below the poverty line, the fifth lowest in the country, compared with 14% in 2000, and 9% of children had at least one unemployed parent in 2010. The lowest ranking states, according to KIDS COUNT, are