Poverty & Economic Well-being

Childhood poverty—especially deep poverty, persistent poverty, and poverty during the earliest years of life—can negatively affect nearly every dimension of child development and well-being, including physical and mental health, social and emotional development, academic outcomes, and eventual labor market success. Despite a steep decline (by 59%) in child poverty from 1993 to 2019, the number of children living in families with insufficient resources to meet their basic needs remains too high.

In response to this challenging but solvable reality, Child Trends produces research aimed at reducing child poverty and mitigating the effects of poverty and financial hardship on children and their families, with the goal of supporting every child’s healthy development. Our scholars bring a deep understanding of the mechanisms through which poverty and inequality impact children’s immediate and long-term development, as well as the many pathways to economic mobility. We examine child poverty from multiple angles, building on our expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and strategic dissemination of research and analysis. Our research tracks the prevalence of child poverty across populations, highlights the effects of poverty on child and family well-being, and identifies policy solutions for reducing poverty.

Promoting equity is central to Child Trends’ research and goes beyond disaggregating findings by income and poverty levels. We study disparities in economic well-being by racial and ethnic groups and parental nativity, noting the roles of historic and ongoing systemic racism and structural barriers in creating those inequities. In addition, much of our research employs mixed methods, letting us tell stories using both quantitative data analysis while also elevating the perspectives of the children, youth, and families who experience poverty. Finally, we carefully consider how systems impact families’ economic mobility.

Through a partnership with the New York Times, Child Trends examined the important role of the social safety net, employment, and demographic factors in lifting millions of children out of poverty over the past few decades. This partnership resulted in two front-page articles that highlighted findings from our report, Lessons from a Historic Drop in Child Poverty. Our work has also been covered by The Washington Post (two editorials), PBS Newshour, The Hill, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Boston Globe, among others. We’ve been published in several peer-reviewed journals and our experts have presented at major conferences, including annual conferences of the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM), the Population Association of America (PAA), and the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).