The child poverty rate in North Carolina is expected to remain at 26 percent, among the highest in the nation, according to a recent student by the bipartisan national child advocacy group First Focus.
The study used unemployment, nutrition assistance and lagged poverty data for its forecast.
The study predicted that the national rate will likely remain high at 22.5 percent, accounting for more than one in every five children in the country.
“This report shows that North Carolina’s children continue to suffer from the recession, and sustained investments are needed to help reduce the negative impacts of a challenging economy on our children and families,” Deborah Bryan, president and CEO of Action for Children North Carolina, said in a statement. “Investments like tax credits for working families, Medicaid and other public health insurance programs for children are essential to help protect the well-being of our children and youth in times of need.”
In North Carolina, an estimated one in 10 children lived with an unemployed parent this year, more than twice the rate in 2007 when the recession began, according to the study.
The number of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) participants nearly doubled in 2012, showing a 90 percent increase since 2007, according to the study.
An estimated 118,000 children lived with parents who were unemployed for six months or longer in 2012, compared to 23,000 children in 2007, according to the report.
“Bouts of parental unemployment can create both immediate and long-lasting damages that can harm a child’s growth and development,” a statement from Action for Children read.