Understanding Child Poverty in the Midst of Great Wealth

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1 Understanding Child Poverty in the Midst of Great Wealth CAFCA/MASSCAP/RICAA Annual Conference Monday May 7, 2007 North Falmouth, MA Douglas Hall, Ph.D. Associate Research Director Connecticut Voices for Children

2 Child Poverty in Connecticut: An Overview If Connecticut succeeds in reducing child poverty, the effort would be groundbreaking not only for the state but for the country as a whole. In short, Connecticut has the opportunity to lead the nation in poverty reduction efforts. (Nancy Cauthen, Phd, December 2006) 2

3 Child Poverty in Connecticut: An Overview Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the wealthiest country of the world. (Douglas Hall, PhD, every chance I get to remind people of it). The City of Hartford (the capital city of the wealthiest state of the wealthiest country of the world) has the second highest child poverty rate in the nation. Connecticut has the resources, but up til now, has lacked the political willpower to address poverty. 3

4 What Does Rentschler Field Have to Do with Child Poverty? Seating Capacity: 40,000 Construction Cost: $91.2M Events Scheduled for 2007: Seven UConn football games, + 4 miscellaneous # of events required to hold Connecticut s 103,000 in Poverty:

5 Child Poverty by Town, Census 2000 CT = 10.4% Child Poverty (<100% FPL) 0% - 2% 2005 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) = $19,350 for a family of four Prepared by Connecticut Voices for Children 2.1% - 5% 5.1% - 10% 10.1% - 41% 5

6 New Haven Poverty Rates, Census HAMDEN NORTH HAVEN 3.9 WOODBRIDGE Poverty Rate 1.7 0% - 4.9% 5% % NEW HAVEN EAST HAVEN ORANGE 10.5% % 20% % % % 0 WEST HAVEN BRANFORD MILFORD Source: US Census, SF3 - Sample Data 6

7 Disparity in the Midst of Wealth Median Net Worth, 2002 $160,000 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $0 $153,900 $5,446 White Headed Households Minority Headed Households 7

8 Poverty in CT, RI, MA City/Town Children in Poverty City/Town Children in Poverty (%) (%) Hartford 41% Holyoke 42% New Haven 33% Springfield 34% Greenwich 4.1% Boston 26% Providence 41% Worcester 25% Newport 24% Falmouth 9% 8

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10 Where Do Connecticut's Poor Children Live? 54% Live In Five of CT's Largest Cities HARTFORD NEW BRITAIN WATERBURY DANBURY NEW LONDON NEW HAVEN BRIDGEPORT STAMFORD 10

11 Where Do Connecticut's Poor Children Live? 25% Live Here TORRINGTON MANCHESTER EAST HARTFORD BRISTOL WINDHAM MERIDEN MIDDLETOWN NORWICH NAUGATUCK DANBURY HAMDEN NEW LONDON GROTON WEST HAVEN NORWALK STAMFORD 11

12 Where Do Connecticut's Poor Children Live? 46% DON'T Live In Five of CT's Largest Cities HARTFORD NEW BRITAIN WATERBURY DANBURY NEW HAVEN NEW LONDON BRIDGEPORT STAMFORD 12

13 80% 70% 78% Almost half of the poor in CT are White Non-Hispanic. One in five are Black Non- Hispanic, and 30% are Hispanic/Latino. 60% 50% 40% 30% 44% % of CT Pop. % of CT Pop.in Poverty 20% 29% 20% 10% 8% 9% 0% White Non-Hispanic Black Non-Hispanic Hispanic/Latino Source: US Census Bureau, 13

14 Connecticut Unemployment Rates, June 2006 (Connecticut = 4.4%, Not Seasonally Adjusted) 3.1% 2.4% 4.1% 3.5% 3.5% 2.9% 2.9% 4.5% 2% 4.6% 3.5% 4.1% 3.1% 3.2% 3.3% 3.5% 4.2% 3.6% 4.5% 4.4% 5.4% 5.1% 4.6% 3.4% 4.7% 3.4% 4.2% 3.3% 4% 3.2% 2.6% 3.7% 3.8% 4.2% 4.2% 5.1% 5.8% 5.6% 3.3% 3.6% 2.9% 3.3% 3.2% 3.1% 3.2% 3.5% 3% 3.2% 3.2% 3.3% 3.5% 3.5% 2.9% 3.4% 3.6% 3.6% 3.5% 3% 3.8% 3.1% 4.4% 3.4% 4.4% 3.9% 3% 3.8% 5.2% 3.3% 5.2% 2.9% 3.8% 6.5% 4.4% 3.5% 3.6% 3% 4.9% 3.6% 3.6% 3.2% 3% 3.2% 2.8% 3.4% 2.5% 3.7% 3.5% 3.1% 3.9% 3.1% 4.7% 6.4% 4.3% 4.6% 6.5% 4.7% 3.9% 3.2% 3.9% 3.6% 4.3% 3.2% 4.6% 3.6% 4.3% 6.3% 3.8% 5.2% 4.4% 4% 8.3% 4% 4.4% 3.5% 3.6% 3.2% 4.2% 5.7% 2.9% 2.9% 3.6% Source: The Connecticut Economic Digest, Vol. 11, #8, August Data Not Seasonally Adjusted 3.2% 3.1% 2.8% 4.3% 5.1% 2.9% 3.2% 3.2% 3.1% 3.2% 3.5% 3.3% 2.8% 3.5% 3.8% 3.6% 3.8% 3.7% 3.2% 3.4% 3.3% 3.5% 3.9% 4.1% 3.8% 7% 4.7% 4.1% 5% 4.3% 2.3% 4.9% 4.1% 5.2% 4.7% 5.3% 4.6% 4.8% 3.5% 3.7% 4.6% 4.6% 4.9% 4.3% 2.9% 3.3% 3.7% % June 2006 Unemployment Rates 2% - 4% 4.1% - 6% 6.1% - 8.3%

15 Check Cashing Services and Child Poverty in Connecticut # # # # # # # # # # Hartford # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ## # # # # # # # # # # ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Connecticut # # Check Cashers # New Haven Child Poverty Rate 0% - 5% 6% - 10% 11% - 20% # ###### # # # # # 21% - 100% # Check Cashers Bridgeport Prepared by Douglas Hall, Ph.D., Connecticut Voices for Children Source: Check cashing data from Connecticut Department of Banking, Child Poverty Data from US Census Bureau, Census 2000, SF3 data. 15

16 Connecticut Housing Prohibitively Expensive Median House Value $93, $150, $150, $250, $250, $500, $500, $831,

17 1957 x 12 = $23,484 Federal Poverty Level for Family of Four = $20,600 17

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19 $45.00 $40.00 $35.00 $30.00 $25.00 $20.00 $15.00 $10.00 $5.00 $0.00 Inflation Adjusted Wage Trends, th percentile 50th percentile (Median) 10th percentile

20 Recovery of Connecticut Jobs After Last Recession, July 2000-July 2003 (Total Employment, 000s) National Recesssion Officially Ends March 2007, 87% of jobs lost in recession have been recovered 20 Jul-00 Oct-00 Jan-07 Jan-01 Apr-01 Jul-01 Oct-01 Jan-02 Apr-02 Jul-02 Oct-02 Jan-03 Apr-03 Jul-03 Oct-03 Jan-04 Apr-04 Jul-04 Oct-04 Jan-05 Apr-05 Jul-05 Oct-05 Jan-06 Apr-06 Jul-06 Oct-06

21 Employment Growth Since Official End of National Recession (Nov. 2001) US, CT, MA, RI (Normalized, November 2001 = 100) Rhode Island United States Connecticut Massachusetts US = 105 RI =104 CT = 101 MA = Nov-01 Mar-02 Jul-02 Nov-02 Mar-03 Jul-03 Nov-03 Mar-04 Jul-04 Nov-04 Mar-05 Jul-05 Nov-05 Mar-06 Jul-06 Nov-06 Mar-07 21

22 Decline of Manufacturing Employment, CT, MA, RI (Normalized, 1990 = 100) Jan-90 Jan-91 Jan-92 Jan-93 Jan-94 Jan-95 Jan-96 Jan-97 Jan-98 Jan-99 Jan-00 Jan-01 Jan-02 Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Connecticut Massachusetts Rhode Island

23 % Change in Manufacturing Employment, % - -25% -24.9% - -15% -14.9% - 0% 0.1% - 15% 15.1% % CT = -34% US = -20% Alaska Hawaii 23

24 Poverty Amplifies Educational Risk: Students in CT s Poorest School Districts Are Not Keeping Pace Students in ERG I (e.g. Hartford, New Haven) -- as compared to ERG A (e.g. Darien) -- are: 1.6x less likely to attend preschool (59% v. 95%) ~5-6x less likely to pass the CT Mastery Tests at Grade 4, 6 and 8 (13% v. 68% for CMT 4, 15% v. 75% for CMT 6, 13% v. 78% for CMT 8) ~ 11x less likely to pass the CAPT test in 10th grade (5.8% v. 63.1%) 23x more likely to drop out of high school (20.9% v. 0.9%) Strategic School Profiles, CT Department of Education,

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26 Age of Workforce, CT, Northeast, US, % 60% 50% 40% United States New England Connecticut 30% 20% 10% 0% yrs yrs 55 yrs and older 26

27 School Breakfast Program Participation Rates, HARTFORD NEW BRITAIN WINDHAM WATERBURY DANBURY NEW HAVEN NEW LONDON STAMFORD BRIDGEPORT Participation Rates 3-40% 40% + No School Breakfast Programs Prepared by Douglas Hall, Ph.D., Connecticut Voices for Children Source: End Hunger Connecticut!,

28 Children in Every Connecticut Town Benefit From HUSKY Connecticut = 222,934 (March 2007) Prepared by Connecticut Voices for Children Children Covered by HUSKY A & B ,000 1,001-10,000 10,001-23,643 28

29 State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Status in the Northeast, 2006 State Income Tax at Poverty Line for Two-Parent Families of Four, 2006 State Tax /Credit New York $ (1,436) Vermont $ (1,195) Massachusetts $ (447) Rhode Island $ (140) Pennsylvania $ - Maine $ - Connecticut $ - New Jersey $ 219 ME NY VT NH CT MA RI PA NJ No State Income Tax State EITC No State EITC 29

30 The Earned Income Tax Credit in Connecticut: EITC Recipients as % of Federal Tax Filers, % - 3% CT = 10.1%, $268 million Prepared by Douglas Hall, Ph.D., Connecticut Voices for Children Source: IRS data, TY2004, provided by the Brookings Institution 3.1% - 5% 5.1% - 15% 15.1% - 37% 30

31 The Earned Income Tax Credit in Connecticut: EITC Recipients as % of Federal Tax Filers, 2004 (By CT Senate District) 2.7% - 5% CT = 10.1%, $268 million Prepared by Douglas Hall, Ph.D., Connecticut Voices for Children Source: IRS data, TY2004, provided by the Brookings Institution 5.1% - 10% 10.1% - 15% 15.1% - 27% 31

32 How Important is the Frame for this discussion? 32

33 Contact Information: Douglas Hall, Ph.D. Connecticut Voices for Children 33 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT