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South Okanagan Photos

Kids – lots in poverty from single parent * homes

More than half of all children in B.C. living in single-family households are in poverty.

That’s one of several findings contained in the 2016 BC Child Poverty Report Card prepared by First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.

The report, using figures from 2014, says the poverty rate among children living in single-family households, is 50.3 per cent. The vast majority of those are single-mother families.

Overall in the province, 163,260 children are living in poverty. That’s a rate of 19.8 per cent, down slightly from 20.4 per cent in 2013.

B.C. child poverty rate is slightly higher than the national average of 18.5 per cent.

“During their critical growing years, thousands of B.C. children and youth continue to be subjected to the stresses and deprivations of poverty because this province has refused to develop a comprehensive poverty reduction plan,” says First Call spokesperson Adrienne Montani.

“Where is the accountability from government to these young people?”

Areas in the province were broken out in regional districts for the report.

The Central Okanagan Regional District has the fifth lowest child poverty rate in the province, 16.4 per cent, well below the provincial number and the national average.

The South Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District rate is 18.8 per cent, while the North Okanagan rate is 20.6 per cent.

All three showed a decline from 2013.

Other findings include:

  • Poor families with one or two children had median incomes between $10,000 an $12,000 below the poverty line.
  • Adjusted for inflation, welfare incomes for a couple with two children decreased from $23,328 in 1989 to $21,294 in 2014
  • 1,000 youth age out of government care in B.C. each year, 40 per cent of the province’s homeless youth have been in government care at some point in their lives.
  • New 2014 data shows B.C. to be the most unequal of all provinces. The average income of the top 10 per cent of families was 13 times the income of the bottom 10 per cent.

“Poverty affects children’s development and robs them of their potential,” says Michael McKnight, president and CEO of the Lower Mainland United Way.

“It’s imperative for the future of 0ur province that we tackle this issue now. When we invest in our children, we are investing in our future.”

Source: United Way and Castanet