Child poverty in Wash. triples in the past two years
Oct 16, 2023, 8:42 AM | Updated: 10:48 am
Children's toys. (AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Child poverty in our state has nearly tripled since 2021.
More than 63,000 children were in poverty in 2021. That number soared to over 180,000 in 2022.
That is roughly a 192% increase from 2021.
The poverty statistics were determined with microdata files from the Census’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey.
“The state has to be able to ensure that no one is facing the hardships of poverty in Washington state when they are not able to work,” said Kamau Chege from the Washington Community Alliance. “It’s time for our state lawmakers to face this reality.”
Chege said that these numbers are almost entirely due to the expiration of the federal Child Tax Credit.
Related news: Child poverty in the US jumped and income declined in 2022 as coronavirus pandemic benefits ended
“When that program ended in 2021, that’s when you saw the big jump in 2022,” Chege explained. “Those problems did not have that support anymore.”
The number of elderly and college students living in poverty also rose in 2022.
“In our research, we also found that increases in people with disabilities,” Chege said. “Interestingly enough, also students.”
Despite this Washington is still one of the wealthiest states in the United States.
In recent years, the state legislature has steps toward closing this wealth gap.
Examples include the Working Families Tax Credit and the Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program.
CONTRIBUTING: KIRO 7 News
