Children raised in impoverished environments are at higher risk of health and social problems, including Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), which can negatively impact performance in school. Racial and ethnic disparities in child poverty rates stem from complex and interrelated reasons. Research suggests they include both historic and modern-day discrimination, as well as public policies that reinforce or do not address racial inequities in income, education, housing and other factors that are critical to economic mobility.

Poverty rates were much higher among Hispanic or Latino (24%) and Black or African American (19%) children than among White children (9%) in Worcester County in 2018-22. Rates for all groups have declined since 2008-13. Rates declined the most for Latino children with a decrease of 17 percentage points, followed by Black (down three points) and White children (down two points).

Worcester County's rates for all groups were similar to the state. Compared to the nation, the County's poverty rate for African American children was significantly lower: 19% in the County compared to 31% nationwide.

Large and persistent disparities in poverty rates are the result of historic and current policies and practices that disadvantaged people of color. Research has connected slavery and the inability of Black Americans even after emancipation to fully participate in economic life to the wealth and income gaps still present today. Poverty often crosses generations, resulting in high rates of child poverty rates. Factors may include: living in a single-parent household, especially if the single parent is female; having parent(s) who are unemployed, employed and/or underemployed in low-wage jobs or incarcerated; and living in communities that have experienced disinvestment and have ineffective and/or under-resourced schools.

Poverty status is not reported for people in institutions, including college dormitories and military barracks, and people in living situations without conventional housing. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (White, African American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic), so the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people show up in both a racial and ethnic group.

The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.