Reports: Calif.’s Child Poverty Rate Up, Population Down

More than 20% of California children live in poverty, while the childhood poverty rates among Latinos and blacks are higher at about 33%, according to a report released Monday by the Center for the Next Generation. Meanwhile, a separate report by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health found that that the number of California children decreased by about 200,000 between 2000 and 2010 and is on track to fall by another 100,000 by 2020.

• "Number of California Children Declines, Poor in Poverty" (Walters, "Capitol Alert," Sacramento Bee, 1/8).
• "More Than 1 in 5 California Children Live in Poverty, Study Finds" (Do, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 1/7).
• "State Child Poverty Rate Has Jumped 30 Percent Since 2008" (Herdt, Ventura County Star, 1/7).