Bismarck Tribune, July 20, 2008: S.D.’s child poverty rate increases
MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) – Several factors contributed to an increase in South Dakota’s child poverty rate during the first half of this decade, according to a report from the state’s Rural Life Census Data Center.
The U.S. Census Bureau said the state’s child poverty rate went from 17.1 percent in 2000 to 18.3 percent in 2005. The Census Data Center is located at South Dakota State University.
A primary factor in the higher rate, according to the report’s authors, may be an increase in single-parent households. The percentage of South Dakota households with only a single parent was 12.72 percent in 2005, an increase from 9.23 percent in 2000.
“Families headed by single parents not only must rely on one income, but the parent is also often forced to work limited hours. Moreover, a good portion of their income goes towards childcare,” the report said.
Ziebach County had the highest 2005 child poverty rate in the nation at 70 percent. Ziebach County was one of nine counties in the state, all with high American Indian populations, to rank among the 100 U.S. counties with the highest 2005 child poverty rates.
Many Indian reservations are in remote areas, and the report says that factor may be partly to blame for the impoverished conditions.
“It may be difficult to build or maintain an economy in an area that is isolated from the rest of the state,” the report said. “Poor road conditions and longer travel distances may help keep families and their children poor.”
The report identified some ways of combating child poverty, such as creating local government jobs in reservation counties, improving access to social programs such as childcare in rural areas, and promoting good schools and early childhood development programs.
In rural states like South Dakota, the report said, child poverty is often more severe and affects children more than any other group.