In 1999, 8.9 million poor children lived in families where somebody worked. 3.8 million poor children lived in families where somebody worked full-time all year. Poor families with children get nearly four times as much income from work as from welfare. This means the average poor family with children gets 3.8 times as much income from work as from welfare. 4.5 million related children lived in families with incomes below one-half of the poverty line in 1999 down from 5.4 million in 1998 but up from a historic low of 2.8 million in 1976.
Poverty line is too low to live on.
More than half of Americans living in poverty report serious material hardships. Children's Defense Fund Please report site problems to CDF's webmaster .