Rural Child Poverty Widespread

Thanks to Diane, we get a glimpse here of rural poverty in the U.S., a topic typically overshadowed by a national focus on urban poverty.  Not surprising, given 80% of the country is classified as metropolitan, meaning there's a significant density of people and homes in the majority of the nation.  But rural poverty is just as troubling and worrisome as poverty in the cities and suburbs, particularly given how many children are poor in rural America.

The Economic Research Service provides some #s from the recession's impact on rural America: Unemployment rose more sharply in metro regions, though it's about 9% nationwide.  In rural communities, minorities and teens have the highest unemployment rates.  Almost 1 in 4 kids in rural areas are poor, especially in communities with high minority populations.  And well more than half of all rural counties have high child poverty rates where at least 1 in 5 children are poor.  Child poverty is highest in well-known chronically poor areas: the Mississippi Delta, on Native American reservations, and along the border with Mexico.

Childhood poverty in rural America is a chronic problem; one that activists, advocates and policymakers are still trying to understand.  It appears to be a perennial lack of educational and job opportunities, particularly for rural African-Americans, who have lived for generations with resources bypassing their communities and no particular means to get out.  This is a topic I know very little about, but I do know this: the recession is by no means over, and if there was ever a time to refocus our priorities on these chronically poor, chronically forgotten communities, it's now.