How are Children in Delco Left Out?

• The number of children in Delaware County living in poverty would fill up nearly every seat in the Wells Fargo Center for a  hockey game.
  
• The number of children living in dire poverty (in homes with less than $10,000 in income) is much larger than the entire student body of the Haverford Township School District.
  

These are just two alarming findings about how children in the county are faring. From economic status to health care, to education and early childhood experiences the news is mixed and sadly not good for children in Delaware County.

GET THE BIG PICTURE: Left Out: The Status of Children in Delaware County

Here’s some more of what we learned.

Most School Districts Have Less Funds Even With More Students Who Need Extra Help

By 2014, 41% of the public school students in the county were from low income families compared to 2011. Districts with the largest share of low income student lost an average of $10,000 per classroom  for instruction.

And no surprise, student performance declined.  More than 9,800 public school students in the county could not pass state reading assessments in 2014, a full 30.5% of all students in the county. 

Access to Quality Early Learning Improved, But Most Poor Kids Not Given this Smart Start

Young families are struggling with the rising costs of child care in Delaware County. Full-time childcare for two children totaled $21,190.

Since 2008, fewer children were able to enroll in publicly funded pre-k, with three out of four eligible children in the county unable to enroll in high quality pre-k due to lack of public funding.

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After you’ve read the report, help share our findings and recommendations for Delaware County by retweeting, here, here, and here.