Children in America

1 in 3 will be poor* at some time during childhoood.
1 in 4 is born poor.
1 in 5 is poor right now.
1 in 5 is born to a woman who received no prenatal care in her first trimester.
1 in 7 has no medical insurance#.
1 in 8 will never graduate from high school.
1 in 8 is born to a teenage mother.**
1 in 11 lives at LESS THAN HALF the poverty line.

*"Poor" is classified as living below the poverty line.
# 2 out of 3 uninsured children have a parent who works full time, year-round.
**In 1960, only 15% of teen mothers were unwed...now 75% are.

Contrary to some common misconceptions about poor children:
...60% of them are white.
...33% live with married parents.

In fourteen hours, this country spends more on "military spending" than it does in an entire
year on programs to prevent and treat child abuse.

More than 5,280 children were killed by guns last year in America
...that's one every hour and fourty minutes...fifteen a day.

Statistics provided by the Children's Defense Fund, 1997

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