#pdxpoverty

Nearly five years after the Great Recession officially ended, more than one in five Oregonians continues to rely on food stamps, and nearly 17 percent live in poverty. Rural Oregon counties continue to fare the worst, with food stamps and Medicaid rates exceeding 30 percent in Jefferson and Josephine counties. In some timber-reliant counties, the poverty rate exceeds 20 percent. The Oregonian mapped state and county unemployment, poverty, food stamps, welfare and Medicaid rates using January 2014 numbers from the Oregon Department of Human Services. The figures show slight improvements from last summer, when The Oregonian last mapped poverty by county. But it's clear that the state continues to struggle and that rural Oregon continues to be left behind in the recovery. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/poverty_in_oregon_interactive.html

A new report finds that nearly one fourth of Oregon children are growing up in poverty. The report tracks annual progress in areas that include children’s health, safety, and economic stability. Oregon ranks in the bottom half of the list, among states with the worst child poverty rates. That’s above the national average and hasn’t changed much from the previous year. That’s according to a new report by Children First for Oregon. The child advocacy group says child poverty may hinder the state’s ability to prosper in the next decade."Ideally, we would have a stronger economy with more jobs, with stronger personal income gains such that we have a lot fewer people in poverty, and that these children, one in four, don’t have to grow up in households with such low income,” Lehner said. http://www.opb.org/news/article/new-report-finds-1-in-4-oregon-children-are-growing-up-in-poverty

A new report finds that nearly one fourth of Oregon children are growing up in poverty. The report tracks annual progress in areas that include children’s health, safety, and economic stability. Oregon ranks in the bottom half of the list, among states with the worst child poverty rates. That’s above the national average and hasn’t changed much from the previous year. That’s according to a new report by Children First for Oregon. The child advocacy group says child poverty may hinder the state’s ability to prosper in the next decade."Ideally, we would have a stronger economy with more jobs, with stronger personal income gains such that we have a lot fewer people in poverty, and that these children, one in four, don’t have to grow up in households with such low income,” Lehner said. http://www.opb.org/news/article/new-report-finds-1-in-4-oregon-children-are-growing-up-in-poverty