Report: Child poverty rate same despite booming economy

ATLANTA - Georgia&#39;s economy boomed in the 1990s, but the percentage of children living in poverty remained almost the same, according to a new report. <br> <br> The analysis by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that Georgia ranked 33rd in the nation in the percentage of children living in poor households, 19 percent in 2000 compared to 20 percent in 1990. <br> <br> But while the percentage dropped a bit, the total number of children in poverty grew by 18 percent from 1990 to 2000, to 393,000, said the report called ``Children at Risk: State Trends 1990-2000.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The report was compiled by the foundation based on a special survey conducted in conjunction with the census. <br> <br> ``The broad question is, &#39;Are all of these children living in poverty acceptable public policy for the state of Georgia?&#39;&#39;&#39; asked Gus Thomas, executive director of Georgians for Children, which works with the Casey Foundation to produce the annual Georgia Kids Count Factbook. <br> <br> ``Georgia, over the same decade, has enjoyed a robust economy second to none, and I think it&#39;s inexcusable that the state has as many children living in poverty as we do,&#39;&#39; Thomas said. <br> <br> A person is considered living in poverty if the household income before taxes falls below varying income thresholds. In 2000, for instance, a family of four was impoverished if their household made $17,603 or less. <br> <br> The latest Casey report ranks states on 11 indicators and attempts to gauge how many of each state&#39;s children live in ``high-risk&#39;&#39; families. Casey defines ``high-risk&#39;&#39; children as those who live in households with at least three of four characteristics: income below the poverty line; only one parent; no parent with year-round, full-time employment; and a head of household who is a high school dropout. <br> <br> The percentage of high-risk families in Georgia declined from 15 percent to 14 percent from 1990 to 2000. That&#39;s still slightly above the national average, which dropped from 13 percent to 12 percent. <br> <br> The state ranked near the bottom, 47th, in children living in single-parent families, which rose to 36 percent in 2000 from 28 percent in 1990. <br> <br> In the percentage of teen-agers who are high school dropouts, Georgia was 46th. While the national rate dropped by 8 percent, the state&#39;s dropout rate grew 14 percent in the 1990s to nearly one in five. <br> <br> ``If we&#39;re going to have good economic development, we have to pay attention to child well-being,&#39;&#39; Thomas said. ``It&#39;s important that we invest not just in roads, housing and infrastructure, but we have to pay attention to what we&#39;re investing in our children.&#39;&#39;