Report: Slight Increase in County's Child Poverty

A very small increase in child poverty was seen in Morris County from 2008 to 2009, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week.

The report is used to help allocate federal funds for various programs.

According to those numbers, the poverty rate of children ages 5 to 17 in the county increased from 3.8 percent in 2008 to 3.9 in 2009. The rate was 3.5 percent in 2007. The data also showed the county had the second lowest rate in the state for the third straight year. In each of those years, Hunterdon County had the lowest rate. However, that rate has risen from 2.6 percent in 2008 to 3.2 in 2009.

Kinnelon saw 6 percent of its children ages 5 to 17 to be living in poverty in 2009 while in Butler,  4.3 percent of children ages 5-7 were living in poverty. In Bloomingdale, in Passaic County, the poverty rate for children ages 5 to 17 was 6.36 percent in 2009.

The report says poverty status is calculated by comparing annual income to a set of dollar values called thresholds that vary by family size, number of children, and age of household. According to the report, the poverty threshold for a family of four in the United States in 2009 was $25,211. Therefore, if a family containing four people had a before tax income less than $25,211, then every person in that family was considered to be in poverty. Though updated yearly, the poverty threshold does not vary by region.  

The national poverty rate for children ages 5 to 17, according to the data, was 18.2 percent in 2009. New Jersey was one of 15 states that fell into the bureau's lowest poverty rate range (9.4-13.3 percent), with a rate of 12 percent. Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York all had greater rates. The data showed New Jersey's rate increased by only one percentage point from 2008.

The data also showed that four counties in New Jersey had a greater poverty rate for children in this particular age group than the national average. Those counties were Passaic, Essex, Hudson and Cumberland. Passaic's percentage was the highest at 23.4.