A new report shows one in ten New Hampshire children is living in poverty.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein has more.
The 2006 Kids Count national survey, conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, says between 2000 and 2004 the number of poor children in New Hampshire went from 6 to 10%.
That's a 67% jump, the largest growth rate of any state nationwide.
What's happened in New Hampshire that's led to the increase?
Ellen Shemitz of the Children's Alliance points to the economy.
She says wages just aren't keeping up with costs.
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1:30 We've seen that NH is the only state in NE area that hasn't had an increase in the minimum wage. We've seen the tremendous increase in the cost of health insurance and employers having employees pay a greater share. We are seeing the rise in the need for child care, and the lack of access.
Mil Duncan conducts research on families and community at the Carsey Institute at UNH.
She says as a result of rising costs parents must scrape together whatever is available.
12:34 families are adjusting, and often adjusting invisibly by driving further for work. Piecing together a number of part-time jobs. And kids in those families are both experiencing change and instability and loss of income in the family that is going to affect what they have as they grow up and attend school and all of that.
It is hard, for some to see poverty in New Hampshire.
The state median income of families with children as of 2004 is some $16 thousand dollars above the national average.
Indeed, the state reports that its welfare program- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families- caseload has been flat over the past four years.
But Dover Welfare administrator Janet Poulin knows more people are asking for help.
Poulin says her caseload has doubled since 2001.
1:43 they don't have enough money to buy oil. Their lights were shut off b/c they missed a payment. The car broke down and they had to pay to get the car fixed. And now they are looking like they don't have enough money to pay the rent.
Poulin, who also serves as vice president for the state local welfare administrators association says about 70% of her caseload is people who work.
Rent, she says, is sucking up too much of a person's paycheck.
Helping people make their monthly rent check, she says, is the most common request her office receives.
But Ellen Shemitz of the Children's Alliance says the problem is bigger than a lack of affordable housing, or poor paying jobs.
She says state and federal policies make it harder for children to get out of poverty.
4:05 NH still has amongst the lowest reimbursement rates in the country for child care providers. on a federal level we have seen cutbacks on policies that want to limit some of the social services. Head Start has proven to be one of the most effective programs affecting child well being. We can now only serve 20% of the eligible children in NH.
Shemitz and other child advocates agree increasing the minimum wage and providing more healthcare coverage would be a good first step in decreasing the number of poor children.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
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