 | Child PovertyPoverty matters. Childhood poverty can have both short and long term negative consequences for children. Growing up at or near the poverty line negatively affects the quality of a family's housing, access to nutritious food and adequate health care, neighborhood safety, and educational opportunities. Furthermore, recent research has documented that the low achievement of poor children in school and in the workplace can not accurately be blamed on parental character flaws, or single parent household status. In Solano County, despite an improving economy, the number of poor and low-income children is growing. Local social service agencies attempting to serve the poor have been overwhelmed by increasing requests for assistance. The cost for failing to lift children and families out of poverty will not be borne by the children alone. Their future labor-force productivity will be diminished, and these costs will be borne by employers and consumers, making it more difficult for business to find qualified workers and expand technology. Additionally costs will be borne by health care systems, schools, and the taxpayers themselves in the form of increased expenses for remedial education, treatment for chronic illnesses, and reduced capacity to earn and thus contribute as much in taxes. For further information and research on the long-term costs of child poverty, visit Child Trends at www.childtrends.org , or the Children's Defense Fund at www.childrensdefense.org. For more information on California household incomes and related information, visit the California Budget Project site at www.cbp.org. |