New Data Shows More Oregon Children In Poverty
We all know that times are hard for Oregon families.
New data from the American Community Survey paint a picture of just how much Oregon’s families are struggling, showing that a downward trend that began in 2008 or earlier has worsened as the state has cut the basic services that allow families to rejoin the middle class.
In Oregon last year, 18.2 percent of families with children under 18 had incomes below the national poverty level. Among families with children under five, 21.6 percent were living in poverty. In both cases, the poverty rate has increased over four percent since the recession began.
Children First for Oregon has been getting the word out:
Regan Gray, policy director for Children First for Oregon, said growing up in stressful situations will have lasting impact on children.
“We know that children that live in poverty usually suffer from [the] circumstances that brings,” she said. “They’ll have lower educational attainment, school achievement, behavioral and emotional well-being and physical health issues.”
For single mother Sandy Campos, tears flow more easily than words when she thinks of her struggles the past four years. Divorce, custody issues and unemployment all have weighed heavily on the Woodburn resident.
“It’s been really bad,” she said Thursday through tears.
Read more at the Statesman Journal.
Why is this happening? Up until very recently Oregon was making strategic investments in the programs that keep people safe and healthy as they regain their footing after the recession. In the last year, Oregon has begun to walk away from our commitment to our neediest children, cutting the basic services that allow families to rejoin the middle class.
We need to invest in the programs that make sure our children are ready to learn, our communities are safe and healthy, and our state can get back to work. Our state and federal legislators need to have the courage to take these issues head-on.
Please join us, and tell Congress and the Oregon Legislature: Protect the programs that lift kids out of poverty.
To learn more about children in Poverty in Oregon, data for every county and the state as a whole is available through the American Factifinder.
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