immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Childhood Development: Rate and Percentage Point

childhood development: The report says the child poverty rate in B.C. in 2015 was 18.3 per cent, representing 153,000 children, half of them living in Metro Vancouver, and that the overall rate is nearly a full percentage point above the national average, according to CTV. First Call's provincial co-ordinator Adrienne Montani says children from single-parent families experienced poverty at 48 per cent, more than four times the rate of kids with two parents. The grim reality of growing up poor is outlined in a report by First Call, which wants public policy initiatives including a commitment to early childhood development and economic equality to give kids a chance to succeed. The report says that in 2015, a single parent working full time for the whole year for minimum wage would have earned only 18,761. Families on welfare, the majority of whom have disabilities or other health conditions, struggle to meet their basic needs, and frequently have to rely on food banks and other charitable sources to feed and clothe their children. The statistics on the depth of poverty show poor children in B.C., including those living with parents working full-time or part-time, are being raised on median annual incomes more than 10,000 below the poverty lines for their respective family sizes, the report says. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.