Only Slight Decline In Child Poverty

Some 6.1 million American children under 6 were living in poverty in 1994, and many were eligible for health care under Medicaid but didn’t enroll, say two new studies of child poverty.

An additional 4.8 million young children lived near the poverty line, said Columbia University’s National Center for Children in Poverty.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported in September that the childhood poverty rate had declined slightly - less than a percentage point - in 1995 from the year before.

While Tuesday’s report used older data, the center said it still puts a face on impoverished children:

Sixty-two percent of poor children lived with at least one parent or relative who worked. Fewer than one-third of the children’s families relied exclusively on welfare.

Six percent of young white children were extremely poor in 1994, compared with 30 percent of young black children whose families had incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty threshold.

The poverty rate grew fastest among Hispanic children, rising 43 percent since 1979, compared with a 38 percent rise among white children and 19 percent among black children.

Childhood poverty grew 59 percent in the suburbs compared with 34 percent in urban areas.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that 2.7 million low-income children who lacked health insurance in 1994 were eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled.

Federal law allows most children in working poor families and those near the poverty line to qualify for Medicaid. But only 38 percent of children under 11 who met the conditions were actually enrolled in Medicaid in 1994, the study found.

“While the Medicaid program provides a health care safety net for millions of children, the program is falling well short of its potential,” said study co-author Cindy Mann.