Wallet Hub: Prof. Azzi-Lessing Shares Expertise on Child Poverty
The financial news site WalletHub examines the state of childhood poverty across the U.S. and gathers expertise and perspective from Professor Lenette Azzi-Lessing on the key factors contributing to the disparities among states.
Excerpt from “2021’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children,” by Adam McCann, originally published by Wallet Hub.
In an ideal world, all children would live worry-free and have access to their basic needs: nutritious food, a good education, quality health care, and a secure home. Emotionally, they all would feel safe and be loved and supported by caring adults. When all such needs are met, children have a better chance of a stable and happy adult life. But in reality, not every child is so privileged — even in the richest nation in the world. Plus, conditions are even harder for underprivileged children this year due to the financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the U.S., nearly 1 in 7 children live in poverty. And according to the Children’s Defense Fund, a child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds and the total costs of maltreatment per year reach $80.3 billion.
Some states address the problems of underprivileged children better than others. To determine where children are most disadvantaged, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key indicators of neediness. Our data set ranges from the share of children in households with below-poverty income to the child food-insecurity rate to the share of maltreated children.
Although they vary greatly in the percentage of poor families they help and the amount of help they provide, states should be evaluated on their child poverty rates and not the degree to which they are better or worse for children in poverty. Poverty drives most other indicators of child wellbeing. States with high child poverty rates tend to have higher rates of children needing special education, school failure and dropout, and higher rates of child maltreatment.
We have spent far too much time trying to fix these other problems without acknowledging poverty as a key underlying cause. That is why it is so important to tackle the problem of poverty head-on.”
Lenette Azzi-Lessing, Ph.D.; Clinical Professor of Social Work; Chair, Specialization in Children, Youth, and Families
Learn More About Prof. Azzi-Lessing’s Research