Group Finds 48K Children In Suburban Counties Are Below Poverty Level
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- While recent headlines say the country has fully recovered from the "Great Recession," an education-advocacy group says children in the Philadelphia suburbs are still struggling.
While data from the 2015 census show jobs and median incomes have bounced back to pre-recession levels, a study from Public Citizens for Children and Youth finds 48,000 children in the Philadelphia suburban counties are still below the poverty level, and that is 7,000 more than in 2009.
PCCY director Donna Cooper says, "The very families who are struggling to make ends meet, those who are likely to be renters and looking for childcare are finding it harder and harder."
Cooper says schools are forced to educate poorer students with less money for education.
"There are 61-school districts in the suburbs, poverty has increased in every one of them since 2008."
Cooper says PCCY is recommending public policy fixes that include a boost in the minimum wage, better access to high-quality pre-K education levels, restored or increased funding to school districts, and better paid family leave.
