Triangle Park Creative

Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota has been drawing a lot of attention for its 2009 Kids Count report. While the report finds Minnesota’s kids are second best off in the nation, major indicators of hardship, such as child poverty, are up sharply.

140,000 Minnesota children lived in poverty in 2008, a more than 20-percent increase since 2000. While poverty numbers for 2008 were released just days ago, they do not capture the current full economic impact of the recession. Estimate show that another 44,000 – 56,000 children could enter the ranks of poverty before the economy recovers.

• Find out more about the report
• Kids Count Data Center
• Star Tribune story

The report was generating interest in the media even before it was released:

• Star Tribune editorial on August 15
  The editorial noted, “Kids Count reveals that even before the recession hit, Minnesota had witnessed a 33 percent increase since 2000 in the number of children growing up in poor homes.”
• Former state senator Steve Kelly referred to Kids Count in an op-ed from August 17, picking out the fact that “Right now, 2,700 children are homeless, 40,000 do not have health care and at least 112,000 children and counting are living in poverty.”
• News story on the report from the Star Tribune, August 8