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2022-06-29
Urban Institute;
Most researchers and policymakers rely on the share of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals when describing student socioeconomic background in schools. But shares of students receiving free and reduced-price meals, and other measures related to the distribution of school meals, vary by state and across time because of changes in school meal eligibility criteria.In this report, we describe the development of a new measure: Model Estimates of Poverty in Schools (MEPS). This measure estimates the school-level share of students from households with incomes at or below the federal poverty level between fall 2013 and fall 2018. The MEPS measure aims to be comparable across states and over time and to broadly align with the school's enrolled population (as opposed to a neighborhood measure).We find that MEPS broadly aligns with aggregate state measures of student poverty and are strongly correlated with geographic district poverty as measured by the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program. We also find that MEPS can under- or overestimate poverty shares for certain districts. In particular, we find that our model underestimates school-level poverty for districts enrolling high shares of Black students. To correct for this, we produce modified MEPS, a second measure that mechanically adjusts our estimate to align with geographic district poverty rates. Because of wider margins of error for districts with small populations in the SAIPE data, we recommend using modified MEPS only for analysis of geographic districts with more than 65,000 residents.These statistical estimates should be used primarily by researchers. MEPS could be useful for those conducting research across states or years or for policymakers who want to understand how a school's socioeconomic characteristics may have changed over time. But these estimates are not appropriate for allocating resources within a state or district or for other uses when having a true count, rather than a model estimate, is required.
2020-09-01
Louisiana Budget Project;
This report provides invaluable descriptive statistics on family economic security in Louisiana by examining Census Data on poverty. It explores income inequality, childhood poverty and unemployment rates statewide and my metropolitan area. It also provides comparative data on how well Louisiana fares relative to the nation.
2011-11-29
Social IMPACT Research Center;
Based on Social IMPACT Research Center's analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates.
2003-12-30
Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights;
Rural Illinois is experiencing greater and greater declines in its well-being, growing barriers to economic viability and increasing disadvantage for economic and human development. 74 of Illinois' 102 counties are rural, non-metropolitan counties. Almost half of these rural counties have poverty rates higher than the state rate. **Limited job opportunity, limited access to health services, inadequate housing options, and declining populations perpetuate this rural poverty. This decline in regional development and growth is clearly linked to poverty populations facing poverty of housing, poverty of education, poverty of health, and poverty of opportunity. **This report examines population, economic, and basic needs issues in regions of Illinois, as defined by the Bureau of Tourism. These regions represent large areas of common demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics. Information on the South and Southwest regions of the state is highlighted, as they are disproportionately impacted by poverty. Data for each county in the state are included in the appendices.
2022-09-15
Heartland Alliance IMPACT Division;
Poverty rates increased and household incomes were stagnant inIllinois from 2019 to 2021. This data reflects 2021, when COVID-19 pandemic-related government assistance provided some relief, suggesting that the financial picture is likely much worse today.
2008-02-19
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law;
Congress pushed past the distractions of the election year to get more done on poverty-related measures in 2008 than the year before, according to the only national analysis that ranks Members of Congress solely on their performance in fighting poverty, released today.The Shriver Center's 2008 Poverty Scorecard, www.povertyscorecard.org, acts as a year-end report card for every member of Congress. The Scorecard assigns letter grades to each member of the United States Senate and House of Representatives according to their voting records on the most important poverty-related issues that came to a vote in 2008.In the Scorecard, four of the most important anti-poverty bills that Congress considered during 2008 passed both the House and Senate and were signed into law by President Bush. Two more were signed into law after being substantially amended; making a grand total of six important anti-poverty measures that became law. These bills address aspects of the economic downturn such as the housing crisis, unemployment compensation and the impact of high credit costs on students. Although Congress considered more important anti-poverty bills in 2007 than in 2008, only three of them passed both the House and Senate and were signed into law by President Bush."Overcoming poverty is a huge job that requires national leadership now more than ever," said John Bouman, Shriver Center president. "We hope to use the Scorecard to elevate the subject of poverty in the national policy dialogue, educate the public about why certain votes are important to promoting equal opportunity, and improve legislators' voting records by demonstrating that they will have to be accountable on these issues."These votes, as well as in-depth bill summaries, poverty rate by Congressional district, analysis from the Shriver Center, and links to antipoverty resources, make up the interactive website through which users can simply click on a map to learn how well their representatives are working to end poverty:* Although half of all Senators had a perfect A+ voting record and over half of all Representatives ranked an A or A+, only five of the 18 bills in the Scorecard passed both Houses and were signed into law by the President.* Several states with high poverty rates have Congressional delegations that had poor records in supporting measures to fight poverty. (Kentucky's poverty rate is the fifth highest in the country, but its Congressional delegation ranked the 40th lowest of the 50 states.)"No matter what your ideology, I think we all can agree that government needs to take some role in providing economic opportunities to all Americans during a tough financial climate," Bouman concluded. "We are looking for members of Congress to realize their performances on these issues are being assessed."
2022-09-13
Brookings Institution;
If you live in a U.S. city, you are probably only a few miles away from a neighborhood with concentrated poverty—and there's a good chance that you are even closer.Neighborhoods with concentrated poverty are defined as census tracts where at least 30% of residents live in poor households. They are found in every medium and large metropolitan area in the United States. It does not matter what region a city is in, nor does it matter if local and state leaders are Democrats or Republicans. The presence of these residential areas is universal.Around one in 15 people in the United States lives in a neighborhood with concentrated poverty—equal to over 20 million people in total. This includes nearly one in five Black people and one in eight Latino or Hispanic people.Previous research has shown that places with high rates of poverty are deeply harmful. People who grow up in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty earn less money in early adulthood and are incarcerated far more often. Children born in these areas are projected to die 5.7 years earlier than those in other neighborhoods.Leaders need better solutions to assist these areas. Fortunately, in recent years, new data and advanced analytical tools have emerged that can offer new insights about these places. This report takes advantage of these opportunities to share three findings demonstrating that positive change is possible.
2013-01-01
Heartland Alliance;
The scale and conditions of poverty make it one of the most pressing social issues facing our state and nation. Over 48.5 million people in the United States are living in poverty, 1.9 million of them in Illinois.1 Poverty will touch the majority of Americans at some point during adulthood. On average, 60% of 20-year-olds in America will experience poverty at some point during their adult years, and about half of adults will experience poverty by the time they are age 65.2 In addition, one-third of the overall population of the United States will experience extreme poverty in their lifetimes, with incomes below half of the poverty line.As the latest Report on Illinois Poverty is released, Heartland Alliance is celebrating its 125th anniversary, and we have refocused our organizational mission squarely on ending poverty. We are doing this work in collaboration with federal, state, and local governments and others—including witnesses to poverty, funders, businesses, community-based organizations, and communities of faith. We know that we can't end poverty without fully understanding the nature, scale, and scope of the issue. This year's Report on Illinois Poverty brings us back to these basics. It explores who is poor in Illinois, why poverty exists in the first place, what hardships being poor induces, and how we can end poverty. It also gives voice to our neighbors experiencing poverty as they talk about their challenges living in, getting out, and staying out of poverty. Throughout the report, listen to Witnesses to Poverty and hear their voices directly as they share their stories.
2018-04-19
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights;
Heartland Alliance's Illinois Poverty Update indicates that millions of people in Illinois are experiencing poverty or are on the cusp. Rooted in inequity, poverty prevents people from meeting basic needs, improving their quality of life, and creates barriers to opportunities including quality education, stable employment, affordable housing and safe neighborhoods. The update sheds light on who is most likely to experience poverty in Illinois: Women, people of color, and children have the highest poverty rates.In addition to the Illinois Poverty Update, Heartland Alliance also released state legislative district poverty fact sheets.These releases are the first of a series Heartland Alliance is publishing on poverty in Illinois this year. Local- and county-level data books will be published this summer, and an in-depth exploration of the forces that contribute to gender-based poverty inequity will be released in the fall.
2001-06-14
Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights;
It is increasingly clear that a focus on welfare reduction and "official" poverty levels greatly underestimates who is poor and why poverty persists. The Illinois Poverty Summit urges the State of Illinois to begin evaluating its progress in reducing poverty on an annual basis against measurable benchmarks. To do that, however, will require a more sophisticated analysis of poverty than "official" poverty figures permit and moving beyond reduction in the welfare roles as a primary indicator of economic well-being. The data in this report contributes to achieving that goal.
2006-01-31
Mid-America Institute on Poverty of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights;
This is the sixth annual publication of the Report on Illinois Poverty. Since the release of the first report six years ago, 342,716 more Illinoisans are in poverty, rising from 10% in 1999 to 12.4% in 2004. Through the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, the eyes of the nation were opened to the devastating effects of poverty, and people were shocked that such detrimental poverty is a daily reality for millions of Americans, including over 1.5 million Illinoisans. Hopefully, the vivid portrayal of the social disaster of poverty will harness energy for a renewed anti-poverty effort in individual states and in the nation as a whole.
