Local Census Data:Child Poverty Rate in Mississippi Highest in the Nation

September 24th, 2012

According to data on poverty released September 20th by the Census Bureau, Mississippi had the highest child poverty rate in the nation in 2011 at 31.5%. This represents a significant increase over the last decade, rising from 25.7% in 2001. Mississippi’s rate is far higher than the national child poverty rate of 22.2%.

The poverty rates show that even as the economic downturn continues to impact struggling workers and families, children in Mississippi remain the most vulnerable. There are 232,239 poor children living in the state. The stark fact that 3 in 10 children in Mississippi live in poverty underscores the importance of funding public programs that serve families and children in need.

Programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and supports like child care certificates play a critical role in keeping families afloat in a poor economy. During last week’s budget hearings, the Department of Human Services noted that 1 in 3 children in the state are receiving SNAP assistance.

These programs also have long-term implications. Research shows that poverty among children not only negatively affects their performance and progress in school but also lowers their earnings as adults.¹Furthermore, such programs have an economic multiplier effect, generating as much as 1.79 dollars in economic activity for every $1 spent, because families use their benefits in the community to meet immediate needs.²

While the state faces the difficult task of deciding how to spend limited resources, it is crucial to adequately fund public programs serving families and children to protect the state’s children and safeguard Mississippi’s future. Moving forward, in light of continuing financial shortfalls, it is important to take a balanced approach that includes raising revenues rather than relying solely on budget cuts.

Author: Amarillys Rodriguez, Emerson National Hunger Fellow, ’12-13

¹Greg J. Duncan and Katherine Magnuson, “The Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty,” Pathways, Winter 2011,
http://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/_media/pdf/pathways/winter_2011/PathwaysWinter11_Duncan.pdf

²Hanson, Kenneth. The Food Assistance National Input-Output Multiplier (FANIOM) Model and Stimulus Effects of SNAP. ERR-103. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Econ. Res. Serv. October 2010., Available athttp://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR103/ERR103.pdf