Washington DC- Yesterday, new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed increased child poverty rates in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The new data supplements the national statistics released earlier this month showing that the number of children living in poverty claimed an additional 1.8 million children from 2008-2009. The census numbers released yesterday as part of the American Community Survey provide a closer look at how state and local communities are faring.

Many child poverty trends from previous years continued in 2009. The lowest child poverty rate continues to be New Hampshire, and the highest continues to be Mississippi. Higher regional child poverty levels are still concentrated in South. However, the 2009 data shows that no area of the country has been immune to the effects of recession on children and families.

Further, when looking at poverty as a whole, the census data shows that children continue to be disproportionately affected. Compared to the 46 states indicating increases in child poverty, 31 states saw increase in poverty overall. Since 1974, no age group has had a higher percentage of people living in poverty than children. For more than 35 years, children have been overrepresented among ranks of the very poor.

“The fact that in 2009 nearly every state saw an increased number of children living in poverty necessitates a long-term child poverty reduction strategy,” said Bruce Lesley, president of First Focus, a bipartisan child advocacy organization. “As a nation, we cannot tolerate allowing more than one in five American children to live in poverty. This negatively impacts the well-being and future development of millions of children.

“Instead, we must invest in our nation’s children to help them grow and succeed. With so many families continuing to struggle in the wake of the recession, it is imperative that Congress and the President move now to ensure the continuity of much-much needed services that are of immense value to low-income and unemployed families with children. These services include the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, Child Support Enforcement, nutritional assistance, and access to the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.”

A state-by-state breakdown of the 2009 child poverty numbers released by First Focus today highlights the following key-findings:

  • 24 states have seen their child poverty rate rise in both 2008 and 2009; 6 states have seen their child poverty rate rise each year since the start of the recession in 2007.
  • In 2009, 19 states and D.C. had child poverty rates higher than the national average of 20.7%.
  • The biggest rise in child poverty occurred in Hawaii, with its rate of children in poverty increasing from 10% to 13.8% (a 38% increase – although still a rate well below the national average). The biggest drop was in North Dakota, with its child poverty rate falling from 15.3% in 2008 to 13% in 2009.
  • The state with the lowest children in poverty rate in 2009 was New Hampshire, as it was in 2008, 2007, and 2006. However, even New Hampshire’s rate is up over the previous year, by 1.8 percentage points.

Since the start of the recession, advocates have been predicting the escalation of poverty in America using the increased number of families dependent on nutritional assistance as a bellwether. A report released by First Focus in January of 2010 revealed that roughly 3.4 million more children were receiving SNAP benefits (formerly known as Food Stamps) in August 2009, compared to a year earlier.