NORRISTOWN — Child poverty is on the rise in Montgomery and Chester counties, according to reports by Công dân cho Trẻ em và Thanh niên.

The findings of the child hunger and poverty study show Montgomery County’s child poverty rate returning to 2008 levels and Chester County’s rate more than doubling between 2008 and 2012.

The findings are part of “The Bottom Line is Children,” a series of studies on Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties that aims to assess the economic well-being of children and their access to support.

The child poverty rate for Chester County increased by 55 percent since the start of the recent economic downturn, according to Public Citizens for Children and Youth. Bucks and Delaware counties also saw increases, of 18 percent and 30 percent, respectively.

The study by the Philadelphia-based group is intended to determine how the counties can best utilize “federal safety net programs intended to protect and support children. The overall goal of these releases is to raise awareness of the issues facing children and motivate elected leaders and school districts to make these issues a priority improvement area.

“Since the recession in 2008, job recovery statewide has been slow and we are seeing evidence that families are having a difficult time rebounding,” said Kathy Fisher, family economic security director for liberal activist group. “Though Montgomery County is doing well, the findings show a lot of families are struggling.”

The report on the study cited various findings regarding poverty rates of families and children across Montgomery County.

Montgomery County children are more likely to be in poverty than adults, according to the report, which found 7.3 percent of children and 6.4 percent of adults in 2012 were living with poverty. In 2008, 7.4 percent of children in the county were considered to be living in poverty. From 2009 to 2011, the percentage dropped to a range of 6.1 to 6.5 percent.

The release also said that the number of children in low-income families in the county has increased 17 percent from 2008 to 2012, meaning 32,000 of the county’s 178,248 children were in low-income families in 2012.

In Chester County, the report states, more than 10,250 of its 120,634 children live in poverty, and nearly half of those in poverty live in families suffering from “deep poverty,” with incomes averaging only $11,775 a year for a family of four.

“Child poverty rose more dramatically in Chester County than anywhere else in southeastern Pennsylvania,” said Fisher. “With a rapidly changing economic landscape, elected leaders, schools and parents need to do everything they can to make sure their children are fed.”

Public Citizens for Children and Youth also looked at child hunger issues in its study, finding that 13 percent of children in Montgomery County face food insecurity. The report warns that “food insecurity contributes to a greater likelihood of limited employability, lessened workforce productivity, poorer job performance, and $260,000 lower lifetime earnings for children.”

The study also looked at child participation in food stamps, which are now funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). For all Montgomery County residents who participate in SNAP, 41 percent of them are children, which is a 53 percent increase from the 2009 to 2010 fiscal year to the 2012 to 2013 fiscal year, according to the release.

Pat Druhan, director of the county food resource center CADCOM, said that SNAP funding decreases resulted in a family of four receiving $36 less every month, which affects 22,000 children in the county.

According to Druhan, the food pantries in the county have seen increased numbers of people accessing their services since last year. The biggest increase has been from senior citizens, at 62 percent over last year, while children who access the pantries have increased 27 percent.

“To get an idea of what we’re facing,” Druhan said, “from two recessions ago, the number of people accessing the pantries has doubled.”

In Chester County, the number of children served by SNAP increased by 56 percent, according to the report from 2009-2010 to 2012-2013.

Phoebe Kitson-Davis, program manager for the Chester County Food Bank, said that fiscal cutbacks to the SNAP program mean the food bank is working to meet an increase in the number of people. She said the food bank is also receiving requests for emergency food boxes from more wealthy districts.

“It’s heightened in pockets of poverty, but we hear from all schools that they are in need,” said Kitson-Davis. “We send emergency food boxes to Great Valley and Unionville-Chadds Ford. There is poverty throughout the county and hunger is everywhere.”

The Public Citizens for Children and Youth study looked at free and reduced lunches in schools and found that despite increased eligibility of children for free and reduced lunches and breakfasts, participation in these programs in Montgomery County has not increased.

Fisher said the Public Citizens for Children and Youth urges community leaders and residents to push for their school districts to increase their participation in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Chester County saw a 27 percent increase in the number of students eligible for the free or reduced-price school meal programs between 2008 and 2012, the Public Citizens for Children and Youth report found, with every school district in the county seeing an increase in the share of students who were eligible for the program.

The study offered several ways that citizens and leaders can help reduce the number of children living with food insecurity and poverty. Besides promoting participation in SNAP and school food programs, the study recommended residents and community leaders capitalize on the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit.

The release said between 2007 and 2012, families using the EITC and CTC in Montgomery County increased 18 percent and 23 percent respectively and that in 2011 the EITC and CTC infused $58 million and $30 million respectively. In Chester County, the share of families receiving EITC increased 20 percent between 2007 and 2011 with an average refund in 2011 of $1,832. The number of families receiving the Child Tax Credit increased 22 percent, the report on Chester County said, with an average refund of $1,419.

Marianne Bellesorte, vice president of policy strategy and communications for Pathways PA, said Pathways has been working in Montgomery County through a partnership with North Penn United Way to provide free income tax services.

Bellesorte said the tax credit programs are a great gift for low-income families. “The EITC is hugely important for low-income families. It makes larger purchases possible for something that is necessary in the house, like a refrigerator,” Bellesorte said.

Next month, Public Citizens for Children and Youth will release reports focusing on child health and early care and education in the four counties.

For more information, or to view the full reports, visit www.childrenfirstpa.org

The Mercury News – December 4, 2013 – Đọc bài báo trực tuyến