A Roadmap to Reducing Child Poverty
This new consensus study report from the Board on Children, Youth, and Families concludes that poverty causes negative outcomes for children, especially if it occurs in early childhood or persists through a large part of childhood. More than 9.6 million U.S. children live in families with annual incomes below the poverty line and studies estimate that child poverty costs the nation between $800 billion and $1.1 trillion annually in terms of lost adult productivity, the increased costs of crime, and increased health expenditures. The consensus study report identifies packages of policies and programs that could reduce child poverty by half within 10 years, at a cost far lower than costs the United States currently bears.
