Kids Matter!

Kids Matter! - 2008

23.8% (14,672) of children ages 18 and under live below poverty in Chatham County. In Savannah, this number is 34.3%.
20% of families in Chatham (with related children under 18 years of age) live below poverty. In Savannah, this number is 28.8%.
For single female headed households with related children under 18 years of age, 42% live below poverty in Chatham. In Savannah, this number is 47.5%.
Median household income for Chatham is $45,647. For Savannah this amount is $35, 241.
64.0% (20,982) of public school students were eligible for free or reduced cost school lunch in 2008-2009. This is another indicator of poverty.

The U.S. poverty measure is obsolete and needs to be updated to account for costs related to work, child care, taxes, and out-of-pocket medical expenses. It also needs to be adjusted for regional differences in the cost of living, and needs to recognize non-cash benefits such as earned income tax credits, food stamps, and housing vouchers¹.
Children represent a disproportionate share of the poor in the United States. They are 25 percent of the total population, but 35 percent of the poor population. The poverty rate for children also varies substantially by race and Hispanic origin².
The Center for Working Families (CWF) is a new approach for helping low-income families reach financial stability and move up the economic ladder by "bundling" essential economic supports in a convenient location to help families build self-sufficiency, stabilize their finances, and more ahead³.
A poverty strategy may be more likely to succeed if it addresses the more specific problems that are of concern to groups and communities, that policy makers and community problem solvers can get their heads around, and for which "success" and "failure" can be both visualized and measured⁴.