CHILD POVERTY

This indicator reports the number and percent of students eligible for the National School Free and Reduced Price Lunch program, considered to be an indicator of children living in poverty or of working poor families. Eligibility is based on income of the child’s parent(s) or guardian(s), which must be below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. This indicator also tracks the percent of children living in poverty according to the U.S. Census.

Why is this indicator important?

Research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and well-being of children. Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition, food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods and under-resourced schools.1 These conditions mean school districts face many challenges serving low-income families, particularly those school districts with more than 75% of students enrolled in the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program.2 The implications for children living in poverty include greater risk for poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socioemotional problems, physical health problems and developmental delays.

• In 2018/19, 48.6% (229,399) of students were eligible for the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program in Orange County, lower than California at 59.4% (3,675,129).

• Between 2009/10 and 2018/19, there was an increase (8.0%) among Orange County students eligible for the Free and Reduced Price Lunch program, more so than among students throughout California (6.3%).

• According to the U.S. Census, 16.4% of Orange County’s children were living in poverty in 2017; a 20.6% increase from 2010 (13.6%), while remaining lower than California (20.8%) and the United States (20.3%).

• When cost of living and a range of family needs and resources, including social safety net benefits, are factored in, poverty among Orange County’s children jumps to 24.3%, surpassing California at 21.3%, with a threshold income needed to maintain a basic standard of living for a family of four at $34,306 in 2016.3