Rural Children Rural Communities

Rural Children Rural CommunitiesDr. William OHareOHare Data and Demographic Services LLCMarch 25, 2010OUTLINEBROAD TRENDS IN RURAL AMERICACHANGING CONTEXT OF RURAL AMERICAFOCUS ON FAMILIES AND CHILDREN

REGIONAL AND RACIAL TRENDS IN RURAL AMERICA

THE 2010 CENSUS

COMMENTS ON COMMUNITY CHANGEWHAT IS RURAL?MANY DEFINITIONS BUT NONE PERFECT (SEE ERS www.ers.usda.gov/Data/RuralDefinitionsfor list of rural definitions)

RURAL VERSUS NON-METROPOLITAN

RURAL AND NONMETROPOLITANRURAL IS ANYTHING THAT IS NOT URBANPLACES OF 2500+ POPULATION AND POPULATION DENSITY AT VERY FINE LEVEL OF GEOGRAPHY (1000 PERSONS PER SQUARE MILE)

NONMETROPOLITAN IS ANYTHING OUTSIDE OF A METROPOLITAN AREACOUNTY BASED MEASURE A COUNTY IS EITHER TOTALLY INSIDE OR OUTSIDE A METRO AREA BASED ON POPULATION SIZE AND COMMUTING PATTERNS

NONMETRO USED MORE OFTEN BY RESEARCHERS BECAUSE DATA IS MORE AVAILABLE Percent of National Population of Children in Rural and Nonmetro Areas Percent Rural Percent NonmetroUnder Age 5 2215Under Age 18 2315Total Population 2316Poverty Rate for Children and Elderly in Rural and Nonmetro Areas 2008TotalRuralNonmetro Under Age 5211727Under Age 18181522Age 65+101012TERMINOLOGYRURAL = OUTSIDE METROSURBAN = INSIDE METROS

WHITE = NON-HISPANIC WHITE

PRESCHOOLERS = UNDER AGE 5/6Population Change 2000-08LocationNumber of CountiesPopulation (Numbers in millions)Populationchange (2000-08)20002008Number (in millions)PercentU.S.3,141281.4304.122.78.1Nonmetro2,05148.649.91.32.7Metro1,090232.8254.221.49.2

Unemployment Rates2007Feb. 2009RURAL5.19.8URBAN4.58.7

CHILD POVERTY IN RURAL AMERICAPERCENT OF CHILDREN UNDER AGE 6 IN DEEP POVERTY 2008

Blue Counties Are Rural Areas with Primary Care Shortage

KEY FACTS ON RURAL CHILD POVERTY

Rural children have higher poverty rates than urban children

The poverty rate gap between rural and urban children is growing

Rural children are more likely to live in deep poverty and near-poor families

Rural children are more likely to be poor for longer periods

Health care is less likely to be easily available for rural children

HOW DO PROTECTIVE FACTORS WORK IN RURAL AMERICA?FAMILY STRUCTURE (PARENTAL COHESION)

PARENTAL EDUCATION

PARENTAL WORK EFFORT

CHANGING RURAL FAMILIES CHANGING RURAL FAMILESNOW MORE RURAL KIDS IN SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

COHABITATION MORE PREVALENT IN RURAL AREAS

TEEN BIRTH RATES HIGHER IN RURAL AREAS

PARENTAL WORK EFFORTWork Effort by Householder (Head of Household)URBANRURALPercent worked full-time year-round7168Percent worked less than full-time year-round2021Percent who did not work 1011GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCERURAL CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKELY TO LIVE IN LOW-INCOME FAMILIESOF THOSE RECEIVING CASH PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, RURAL FAMILIES RECEIVE LESS THAN URBAN FAMILIESRURAL CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKLEY TO DEPEND ON EITCRURAL CHILDREN ARE MORE LIKELY TO DEPEND ON MEDICAID AND SCHIPREGIONAL DIFFERENCES Distribution of Rural Children in Poverty by Race and RegionAll Regions CombinedNortheast RegionMidwest RegionSouth RegionWest RegionNon-Hispanic White5988814750Black2144351Hispanic166101632Asian and Pacific Islander*11*1American Indian/Alaskan Native415216Total100100100100100* = rounds to zeroTHE IMPPORTANCE OF THE 2010 DECENNIAL CENSUS FOR CHILDRENUNDERCOUNT OF CHILDREN IN THE DECENNIAL CENSUSYOUNG CHILDREN HAD THE HIGHEST UNDERCOUNT RATE OF ANY AGE GROUP IN 2000 CENSUS750,000 (4% OF TOTAL) WERE MISSEDTHIS IMPACTS OUR ABILITY TO PLAN THIS IMPACTS DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL FUNDS. Ten Key Programs for Children Which Use Census Data for Distributing Federal Funds Name of Program FY2008 (in billions of dollars)Total $ 447.3 Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) $ 261.1 Special education Grants to States $ 10.8 Title I Grants to Local Education Agencies $ 7.5 State Child Health Insurance Program $ 7.1 Head Start $ 5.7 Foster Care Title Iv-E $ 4.3 Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund $ 2.9 State Grants to Improve Teacher Quality $ 2.8 Adoption Assistance $ 2.0 Child Care and Development Block grant $ 2.0

KEY IDEAS ABOUT COMMUNITY CHANGE COMPREHENSIVE EFFORTS TRAITS CLUSTER

SUSTAINED EFFORTS OVER TIME

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKINGSUMMARYRURAL DISADVANTAGES ARE OFTEN SMALL, BUT THEY ARE WIDESPREAD AND THEY ACCUMULATE

THERE IS A STRONG RACIAL OVERLAY TO CHILD POVERTY IN RURAL AMERICA

RURAL AMERICA IS MORE OF A MOSIAC WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE PUBLIC TO DEVELOP A CLEAR IMAGE OF THE RURAL POOR