The economy may be improving, but the number of local children living in poverty continues to increase. More than a quarter of Franklin County kids lived in poverty in 2012, according to the Kids Count report released by Childrens Defense Fund-Ohio. Thats a 72 percent increase since 2002. Overall, 24 percent of Ohio children are poor. Kids Count project manager Dawn Wallace-Pascoe said while the economy is recovering, poverty continues to be a problem. It just seems like some of these economic improvements are not really trickling down, or translating, to our children," Wallace-Pascoe said.
The report found 58 percent of Franklin County children are enrolled in Medicaid, compared to 49 percent statewide. And, in fact, in Franklin County, over last years data book to this years data book, there were slight increases in the percent of children receiving food stamps, percent of children in the school food program.
Thirty-five percent of Franklin County kids are on food stamps compared to 30 percent statewide. Forty-five percent receive free or reduce school lunches, slightly lower than the state average. And at nearly 11 percent, Franklin County has one of the highest percentages of children in publically-funded child care. Only Hamilton and Cuyahoga Counties had higher participation rates. Children who live in suburban and rural counties fare much better than their counterparts who live in metropolitan or Appalachian areas.