Recession's Impact On Kids

06/24/2009

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire.
Edith Stilwell, British poet

The current recession could be over by the year's end, but its impact on children will continue through next year and may virtually erase decades of improvements in American children's well-being, according to a new report by the Foundation for Child Development. The Foundation's Child and Youth Well-Being Index Project recently issued its annual composite assessment of children's well-being. Along with updating the index through 2007, the assessment concludes that through 2010, virtually all the progress made in family economic well-being since 1975 will be wiped out because of the recession, taking a lasting toll on children. The projection is based on the analysis of data from past recessions and economic forecasts for the future.

The report provides a composite child well-being index based on 28 indicators, organized into seven domains, including family economic well-being, health, safety and behavioral concerns, and educational attainment. Each year's results are measured against figures from 1975, when the index started. While the index has shown ups and downs in children's quality of life over the years, predictably correlating with recessions, the index could fall back to 1975 levels by 2010 largely because of a decline in families' economic well-being.

The percentage of children in poverty is likely to peak at 21 percent in 2010, the report says, comparable to figures from past recessions. Twenty-seven percent of children — 8 million — will likely have at least one parent not working full time year-round in 2010. Median family income is expected to drop for all families, but especially for single male-headed households. Along with the direct impact of the decline in families' economic well-being, children will likely suffer from a range of indirect effects of the recession, the report forecasts. Obesity may rise from parents' reliance on cheap meals, behavioral problems could increase if adolescents who are not in school cannot find jobs, and state and local budget cuts could limit the availability of pre-kindergarten programs.

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