The state of South Dakota's child: 2009. Part 2--Children and poverty

There is an inverse relationship between age and poverty in the United States, with 21 percent of children under six years of age poor, living below the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG). In South Dakota, 17 percent of children under age 18 are poor, compared to 18 percent nationally, with 10 percent versus 11 percent of white children living below the FPG and 56 percent versus 33 percent of American Indian children living in poverty. In South Dakota, more than one-third of children living in single-parent households are poor, and 5 percent of those in married households live below the FPG. Nearly one-third of all children below the FPG live with their working poor families that have at least one parent with part- or full-time employment. The effects of poverty on learning and development are reviewed with an emphasis on current findings suggesting that poverty in early childhood has long-term influences on health, regardless of an individual's movement beyond life in a low-income household.