November 17, 2014

The number of  children in the United States who experience homelessness each year has climbed to an all-time high of 2.48 million, according to a new report by the National Center on Family Homelessness in Waltham, Massachusetts. That number represents 1 in every 30 children in the United States. The report, titled America’s Youngest Outcasts, stated that child homelessness increased nationally by 8 percent from 2012 to 2013. The number of homeless children rose in 31 states and the District of Columbia. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, the increase exceeded 10 percent. States with the highest rates of homelessness among children are Kentucky, New York, California, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico, Alaska, West Virginia, and Arizona. The National Center on Family Homelessness is a part of the not-for-profit American Institutes for Research, a major behavioral and social science research and evaluation organization.

The report identified six main causes of child homeless in the United States:

• the country’s high poverty rate,
• a lack of affordable housing,
• the continuing impact of the Great Recession (2007-2009),
• lack of equality among races,
• the challenges of single parenting,
• the ways in which traumatic experiences, especially domestic violence, precede and prolong homelessness for families.

In contrast to homeless veterans and chronically homeless people, “Children and families have not received the same attention—and their numbers are growing,” the report concluded. “Without decisive action and the allocation of sufficient resources, the nation will fail to reach the stated federal goal of ending family homelessness by 2020, and child homelessness may result in a permanent Third World in America.”

May 22, 2013

The number of people living below the poverty line in American suburbs surged by 64 percent over the past 10 years, reported the Brookings Institution after an extensive study. The United States government defines the poverty line as an income of $23,550 or less for a family of four. The Brookings Institution is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. The report, “Confronting Suburban Poverty in America,” reveals that for the first time, the number of poor people in suburban communities outnumbers the number in cities, and that poverty is growing in the suburbs at more than twice the rate that it is growing in urban centers.

The Brookings report cites the collapse of the housing market and the subsequent foreclosure crisis as aggravating a problem that was developing before the financial crisis of 2008. The report also points to the rapid loss of largely suburban jobs in manufacturing, construction, and retail during the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009.

Additional World Book articles:

• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crises: Then and Now  (a special report)

Nov. 10, 2011

The number of United States citizens classified as poor hit a record 49 million in 2010, 16 percent of the total population, announced the U.S. Census Bureau this week. Under a broad new measure intended to supplement the official standard, poverty is classified at or below an annual income of $24,343 for a family of four, compared with $22,113 under the earlier measure. To determine the new thresholds, the Bureau included housing and household expenses, medical costs, regional differences in the cost of living, and such government benefits as food stamps. (To fight hunger and to improve the diet of Americans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program–formerly the Food Stamp Program–which helps needy people purchase food.) 

Out-of-pocket expenses for medical are a major factor in poverty among the elderly. © Photodisc/Getty Images

The greatest increase of poverty occurred among people aged 65 and older. Roughly one-in-six senior citizens, or 15.9 percent, is now officially living below the poverty line. According to officials, the primary cause is out-of-pocket medical expenses, including premiums and co-pays from Medicare. Advocates for the elderly are currently lobbying against congressional measures to cut Medicare funding as a means of bringing down deficit spending and the national debt.

Additional World Book articles:

• Standard of living
• Welfare
• Health Care Reform: What’s In It for You (a special report)