Poverty level of children in Bristol, Va., among worst in the state

One out of every three city children lives below the poverty level – a figure that ranks among the worst in Virginia, a new report shows.

Nearly 34 percent of children in Bristol, Va., live in a household where the median income is below $22,000, according to a report released Monday by Voices for Virginia’s Children. The city is tied with Roanoke for having the seventh highest rate statewide.

The problem is acute across Southwest Virginia, where the number of children living in poverty is double the state average and significantly higher than the national figure. Released Monday, the report uses information from the 2010 census, which is the most recent data available.

“This shows poverty isn’t just in urban areas,” said John Morgan, executive director of Voices for Virginia’s Children. “So much of it is found in smaller towns and cities and rural areas. It’s not just urban kids we’re talking about.”

The Richmond-based nonprofit, advocacy and public policy group’s report shows the number of children living at or below the poverty level in Virginia has grown to 265,000 since the recession began four years ago. Across the state, the number of children in poverty rose from 12.9 percent in 2007 to 14.6 percent in 2010. The national average is 21.6 percent.

Morgan predicted that next year’s figures may show another increase.

Buchanan and Lee counties also rank among the state’s highest child poverty rates at 34.9 percent and 33.1 percent, respectively. Washington County, Va., had the region’s lowest child poverty rate at 19.3 percent.

The city experienced a nearly 5 percent increase in its child poverty rate since 2007. Across the Mountain Empire, the average increase was about 2 percent, with Smyth County reporting the largest increase at 6.2 percent. Dickenson, Russell and Wise counties recorded modest declines between 2007 and 2010.

This issue is vital, Morgan said, because research shows that children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience long-term health problems, have academic issues and drop out of school and develop problems that lead to violence or becoming part of the juvenile justice system.

Last year, the city school division began working more closely with local health and human service agencies to focus on the issues, Superintendent Mark Lineburg said.

“Sixty-two percent of our students are on free and reduced lunch. But when you talk about Bristol city schools, we’re trying to provide a conduit to help them attain a better life through education and a better chance,” Lineburg said. “We work on this every day – every single day.”

Making improvements will require the cooperation of those agencies and a comprehensive approach to help more students graduate, Lineburg said.

The new report is primarily aimed at reminding Virginia lawmakers to continue or increase funding for school nutrition, child care assistance and other programs, Morgan said.

“The message here is that, although the recession officially ended in 2009, the children in poverty rate has not started to decline and is, in fact, still getting worse. There are more kids living in poverty in Virginia than at any time in at least the last 15 years,” Morgan said.

Lineburg said preschool programs are vital to helping break the cycle of poverty.

“We encourage lawmakers to promote outreach and awareness of nutrition programs and to adopt policies to help local schools expand the Virginia preschool initiative,” Morgan said. “We also urge them to preserve funds for Virginia’s child care assistance program. If people are going back to work – in many cases at these low wage jobs – they’re going to need some help with their child care.”

Lawmakers from both parties are typically supportive of programs to aid children, Morgan added, but his agency also advocates for additional funding for preschool programs.

“The past three budget cycles, the legislature has not done any harm to social safety-net programs, but it’s not time to get complacent,” Morgan said. “This shows these programs are needed now more than a year or two ago. It would be disastrous to families to cut back on these safety-net services.”