HOW MANY CHILDREN LIVE IN POVERTY IN NORTH CAROLINA?
One-fifth of North Carolina’s children live below the federal poverty line, which is $21,200 for a family of four. After nearly a decade of decline, the state’s child poverty rate began to climb in 2000. That year, the rate exceeded the national average and has stayed above it ever since. Thirty-seven percent of black children in North Carolina live in poverty, compared with 10 percent of white children. WHY IS CHILD POVERTY RISING IN NORTH CAROLINA? Ableidinger attributes the rise to the loss of stable manufacturing jobs in the state. As textile and furniture plants have closed, many factory workers moved to lower-paying service and retail jobs with few benefits, the report says. The state’s median wage, adjusted for inflation, remained flat from from 2000 through 2006, and the wages of the lowest-paid workers fell, the report says. HOW DOES POVERTY AFFECT A CHILD’S BRAIN? Young brains develop through interaction with other people. But children in impoverished families don’t get the i
