Children in Poverty in Tennessee

Tennessee

Families with incomes below the federal poverty level may struggle to meet the basic needs of their children. Exposure to chronic stress, including unreliable access to food, health care and stable housing, may impair the development of children in poverty and can affect their health at any of the following stages: 

• Birth. Women living in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to give birth prematurely and have low birth weight babies.
• Childhood. Obesity, asthma and emergency room visits are more common among children living in poverty compared with those not living in poverty. Impoverished and low-income children often have greater need for health services, particularly for mental health.
• Adolescence. As impoverished children grow up, they are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes, and less likely to complete high school.
• Adulthood. Obesity, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and premature mortality are all associated with low socioeconomic status during childhood. Childhood poverty has also been linked to difficulty with emotional regulation that lasts into adulthood regardless of changes in income status and is associated with development of physical and mental health issues later in life.

Living in poverty affects a child’s ability to succeed in school and may impact potential future earnings. The cost of childhood poverty in the U.S. is estimated at $1.03 trillion annually, factoring in lost potential earnings and associated medical costs.

According to America’s Health Rankings data, the prevalence of poverty is higher among:

• Non-Hispanic Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children, who both have a prevalence more than 3 times the rate of non-Hispanic Asian children, the group with the lowest prevalence. Non-Hispanic white children also have a low prevalence.
• Children of single mothers compared with children who live in two-parent households or in single-father households. 
• Children ages 0-5 than children ages 12-17.

Recent innovations to mitigate the adverse effects of childhood poverty use the two-generation approach, which promotes family resilience by combining support and education programs for parents with early childhood intervention programs, creating a stronger, total family experience.

Many government programs and community interventions exist to help reduce the number of children in poverty and support low-income families:

• The earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest U.S. poverty-alleviation program, provides a tax credit to employed families and individuals living in poverty. Research shows the benefits of the program include decreased prevalence of low birth weight and preterm birth and increases in breastfeeding. One study calculated that an annual $3,000 from the EITC for a family with a child younger than age 5 will cause an average 19% increase in future earnings for the child.
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, provides nutrition benefits to families in need.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food and nutritional support specifically for pregnant and postpartum women and children. WIC has been associated with a lower prevalence of low birth weight, with greater gains among women with low education.
• The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides free or low-cost meals to students at school.
• Child First is a comprehensive program that provides financial, housing and food assistance and early childhood interventions for low-income families. 
• Medicaid provides health care to low-income adults, pregnant women and children.
• Universal basic income programs can provide those living in poverty with regular cash transfers to meet basic needs regardless of employment status, age or other restrictive conditions. 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine proposed four policy packages that would reduce child poverty 24%-52% while using existing policy options to maximize effectiveness.

While not specific to children, reducing the proportion of people living in poverty is a Healthy People 2030 economic stability objective.

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