CHILD POVERTY STUDY WV Senate Panel Studies Roots Of Child Poverty
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Heath Harrison
Reported: Feb. 20, 2013 5:06 PM EST
Eyewitness News Photo
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
Both speakers at the first meeting of the West Virginia Senate's select committee on child poverty said that the state's high teen pregnancy rate is a leading cause of childhood poverty.
The statistics presented Wednesday show a vicious circle: children who grow up in poverty are more likely to become teen parents and then drop out of high school, meaning their children are more likely to grow up in poverty and become teen parents themselves.
West Virginia ranks 40th nationally in teen pregnancy rates.
Education Alliance president Patricia S. Kusimo said that it is crucial to focus on early childhood in order to break the cycle.
Kusimo said that poverty and poor living conditions create toxic stress in very young children that adversely affects brain development.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
WVU gets gifts to support education lab May 25, 2013 3:05 PM EDT About $500,000 in private gifts is helping to support science, technology, engineering and math education programs at West Virginia University.
Sheriff: 12 hurt in Ohio ride derailment May 25, 2013 7:06 PM EDT Authorities say a dozen people with minor injuries sustained minor injuries when a train ride at an eastern Ohio farm attraction went off the rails.
Associated Press
