Time to Get Serious About Solving Child
Poverty in Wisconsin
New Report Outlines Severity and Impact,
Recommends Strategic Approaches
Poverty in Wisconsin
New Report Outlines Severity and Impact,
Recommends Strategic Approaches
From Wisconsin Council on Council on Children and Families
Dec. 19, 2013
Child poverty has grown sharply in Wisconsin in recent years. About one in five Wisconsin children—over a quarter of a million
total—live below the poverty line. This disturbing trend is contributing to a host of problems that affect everyone in the state –
families living in poverty are not the only ones impacted, entire communities are affected as well. Unfortunately, the problem of
worsening poverty is invisible to many people who are not experiencing it, including many of those positioned to fight poverty on a
systemic level. A new report from the Wisconsin Council on Council on Children and Families (WCCF) examines the depth and
breadth of child poverty in Wisconsin, outlines the impact it has on our children and our communities, and explores strategies to
address it.
“It is simply unacceptable that a quarter of a million Wisconsin children, including half of our African-American children, live in
poverty,” said WCCF Executive Director Ken Taylor. “The consequence of widespread poverty is negatively impacting far too many
neighborhoods and communities in Wisconsin. If we fail to get a handle on it now, we will be failing an entire generation.”
Families clearly play a primary role. But an important part of the problem, according to the report, is a lack of political will to make
the kinds of sustained public investments that are likely to help. One reason for this is the mistaken belief that Wisconsin’s poverty
problem is a Milwaukee problem, when in fact over 2/3 of Wisconsin’s poor children live outside of Milwaukee, many of them in
suburban and rural communities all across the state. The impact of growing up poor touches virtually every indicator of a child’s
well-being, including health, education achievement, contact with the criminal justice system, and future economic stability.
“Every aspect of growing up poor is interconnected,” Taylor notes. “Poverty affects a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, social,
and economic well-being, and all of those aspects of well-being constantly affect each other.”
Moreover, according to Taylor, these impacts touch every part of a community. “The school system, the health system, and
businesses operating in high poverty areas are all going to feel the impact,” he said. “We’re all economically connected. When
poverty is high, we all pay the price.”
The report goes on to recommend several broad strategies to combat poverty and its associated problems in Wisconsin. They
include: implementing two-generation strategies that support under-resources parents while intensifying investments in their
children; addressing poverty on the community and neighborhood levels; defining policies that narrow critical race- and ethnicity-
based gaps; applying approaches that have worked well in other places; and improved communication and collaboration among
those working on poverty issues. Areas to focus on include early education, employment and training, health care, affordable
housing, income supports, and place-based initiatives.
“We all do better when we all do better. That’s not just a hollow slogan,” Taylor said. “The future of our state and our communities
depends on our success in reducing poverty. We are all interdependent, and we are all responsible for the health of our
communities.”
###
Dec. 19, 2013
Child poverty has grown sharply in Wisconsin in recent years. About one in five Wisconsin children—over a quarter of a million
total—live below the poverty line. This disturbing trend is contributing to a host of problems that affect everyone in the state –
families living in poverty are not the only ones impacted, entire communities are affected as well. Unfortunately, the problem of
worsening poverty is invisible to many people who are not experiencing it, including many of those positioned to fight poverty on a
systemic level. A new report from the Wisconsin Council on Council on Children and Families (WCCF) examines the depth and
breadth of child poverty in Wisconsin, outlines the impact it has on our children and our communities, and explores strategies to
address it.
“It is simply unacceptable that a quarter of a million Wisconsin children, including half of our African-American children, live in
poverty,” said WCCF Executive Director Ken Taylor. “The consequence of widespread poverty is negatively impacting far too many
neighborhoods and communities in Wisconsin. If we fail to get a handle on it now, we will be failing an entire generation.”
Families clearly play a primary role. But an important part of the problem, according to the report, is a lack of political will to make
the kinds of sustained public investments that are likely to help. One reason for this is the mistaken belief that Wisconsin’s poverty
problem is a Milwaukee problem, when in fact over 2/3 of Wisconsin’s poor children live outside of Milwaukee, many of them in
suburban and rural communities all across the state. The impact of growing up poor touches virtually every indicator of a child’s
well-being, including health, education achievement, contact with the criminal justice system, and future economic stability.
“Every aspect of growing up poor is interconnected,” Taylor notes. “Poverty affects a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, social,
and economic well-being, and all of those aspects of well-being constantly affect each other.”
Moreover, according to Taylor, these impacts touch every part of a community. “The school system, the health system, and
businesses operating in high poverty areas are all going to feel the impact,” he said. “We’re all economically connected. When
poverty is high, we all pay the price.”
The report goes on to recommend several broad strategies to combat poverty and its associated problems in Wisconsin. They
include: implementing two-generation strategies that support under-resources parents while intensifying investments in their
children; addressing poverty on the community and neighborhood levels; defining policies that narrow critical race- and ethnicity-
based gaps; applying approaches that have worked well in other places; and improved communication and collaboration among
those working on poverty issues. Areas to focus on include early education, employment and training, health care, affordable
housing, income supports, and place-based initiatives.
“We all do better when we all do better. That’s not just a hollow slogan,” Taylor said. “The future of our state and our communities
depends on our success in reducing poverty. We are all interdependent, and we are all responsible for the health of our
communities.”
###