“We need to really be concerned about the growing number of children in poverty. Our poverty rates are growing faster than the rest of the nation and that has long-term consequences.”-Lauren Necochea, Idaho Kids Count
The latest Kids Count survey found Idaho leading the country in poverty rates for children. The national average is 18%, from 2000 to 2009. During the same time period, Idaho’s poverty rate hit 29%!
To make things worse Idaho politicians are slashing and burning federally funded social programs.
Other bad news from the survey: Idaho teens who drop out of school, and are unemployed, are increasing year after year, 8% in 2008, 9% in 2009.
The Kids Count report also says teen deaths are on the increase.
Strangely the report considers single parent families to be a bad thing! It says single parent families are on the increase, but my own experience shows that is not a bad thing! I’m a single parent and raised three children who were A/B students in grade school, now they’re all working adults, with two of them also taking part time college courses. They have their own newer model cars, one is a homeowner, another is a landlord (on top of her job and going to college). Tell me how being a single parent hurt my kids!