Statewide, Iowa — A new report finds the rate of Iowa children living below the federal poverty line fell significantly in the past quarter-century.
The study by the non-profit Child Trends found child poverty rates in the state dropped from 19-percent in 1993 to just six-percent by 2019. Avenel Joseph, vice president for policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says she’s encouraged by this trend, but is concerned it won’t last.
Joseph says the expansion of economic assistance policies is a major factor in the drop of child poverty rates.
Nationwide, the report found child poverty fell an unprecedented 59-percent over the past 25 years. See the full report at: https://www.childtrends.org/publications/state-level-data-for-understanding-child-poverty.
