U.S Has One of the Hightest Rates of Child Poverty

"The U.S. has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the developed world. Of 35 wealthy countries studied by UNICEF, only Romania has a child poverty rate higher than the 23 percent rate in the U.S.

A child is deemed to be living in relative poverty if he or she is growing up in a household where disposable income, when adjusted for family size and composition, is less than 50 percent of the median disposable household income for the country concerned.

Compounding the poverty issue for children is the issue of homelessness. Homeless children experience food insecurity, with one-third reporting that they skip meals; are more than twice as likely as middle-class children to have moderate to severe acute and chronic health problems; and are twice as likely as other children to repeat a grade in school, to be expelled or suspended, or to drop out of high school."

Source: The Philadelphia Tribune, 12/21/16, View Article...