7/27/2019 Pediatric Association Calls For a War on Child Poverty

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PEDI

CHILD

IMPO

The Academic Pediatric

Childhood Poverty and issuedA

Road-Map describes childhood

United States today. The task f

president. Dr. Dreyers APA pr

Families: The Case for Ending

The Road-Map summari

The effects of pdocumented. Poor childr

birth weight and subsequ

frequency and severity o

with poorer nutrition and

unintentional injury and

and increased rates of ob

evidence that poverty in

adulthood that is indepen

birth weight and increase

in the brain, long-term ep

The consequence

perhaps even more critic

may change their life traj

in intergenerational pove

educational outcomes wi

school graduation; they h

which, in turn, often lead

unprotected sex with incr

increased criminal behav

be poor adults with low p

The APA Road-Map call

initiatives to reduce child povert

Credit fully refundable, strength

improving access to TANF. The

3- and 4-year olds, and for expa

(May 2013. Contact Timothy C

TRIC ASSOCIATION CALLS FOR A WA

OOD POVERTY DESCRIBING IT AS TH

TANT PROBLEM FACING CHILDREN I

UNITED STATES TODAY

ssociation (APA) has formed an APA Task Fo

Strategic Road-Map for addressing childhood p

overty as the most important problem facing c

orce is co-chaired by Dr. Bernard Dreyer, APA

sidential address, To Create a Better World for

hildhood Poverty, recommended formation of

es the consequence of childhood poverty as fol

verty on childrens health and well-being are wn have increased infant mortality, higher rates

nt health and developmental problems, increas

chronic diseases such as asthma, greater food i

growth, poorer access to quality health care, in

ortality, poorer oral health, lower immunizatio

sity and its complications. There is also increas

hildhood creates a significant health burden in

dent of adult-level risk factors and is associated

d exposure to toxic stress (causing structural alt

igenetic changes, and increased inflammatory

of poverty for child and adolescent well-being

l than those for health. These are the conseque

ectories, lead to unproductive adult lives, and tr

rty. Children growing up in poverty have poore

h poor academic achievement and lower rates o

ave less positive social and emotional develop

s to life trajectory altering events such as earl

eased teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse,

ior as adolescents and adults; and they are more

roductivity and low earnings.

s for a war on childhood poverty and recomm

including raising the minimum wage, making

ning the Earned Income Tax Credit, and streng

Road-Map also calls for free early education f

ding high quality, affordable child care.

sey, tcasey@legalmomentum.org, for further i

ON

MOST

THE

rce on

overty. The

hildren in the

s immediate past

Children and

the task force.

ows:

ellf low

d

nsecurity

reased

n rates,

ing

with low

rations

arkers).

are

ces that

ap them

f high

ent

nd

likely to

ends policy

the Child Tax

hening and

r all low-income

formation.)