Children in Poverty

Approximately 15% of Utah children are living in poverty. Of these, 31% are at risk of remaining in
poverty as adults. Poverty has significant impacts on education and development of children, which carry
consequences into adulthood.
Education
At-risk children tend to underperform in academics
Children in poor economic conditions scored 21% lower in language skills and 28% lower in math
than standardized test averages.
Only 72% of economically disadvantaged children are expected to graduate high school
Only 57% of intergenerational poverty (IGP) students graduate
Development
61% of IGP children are in single parent households
26% of children in poverty are victims of abuse compared to only 1.5% of total Utah children
93.8% of IGP children receive medical benefits
91.8% of IGP children are on food stamps
Two of the key factors in perpetuating poverty are education and home life. Because children in this
category are less likely to graduate high school, especially IGP children, they are more likely to continue
their economic status as adults. This continues the poverty cycle, as children of these individuals will
likely experience the same educational disadvantages, leading to the same income issues as adults.
Problems with home life are also perpetuated. 39% of adults who experienced abuse as children have
committed abusive acts themselves. Brain research shows that adults who grew up in low-income
households have reduced social and economic mobility and frequently demonstrate cognitive and
behavioral impairments due to their early home life.

What can People Helping People do?

People Helping People is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the number of children living in
poverty by teaching low-income women, primarily single mothers, how to earn an adequate income
through stable employment that pays a living wage.
PHP helps women escape the poverty cycle through their ESN and WPN programs, where 63%
and 96% of women in the respective programs no longer require assistance. These women can
go on to provide stable home environments for children.
PHP helps reduce the medical assistance needs of children with 56% of phase 3 participants and
96% of phase 4 graduates receiving health insurance from their employers.
With 96% of Phase 4 graduates obtaining stable employment, PHP helps meet Utahs 10-year
goal of having at-risk children in self-sufficient families.
The stable employment that program graduates enjoy, as well as 19% of graduates being able to
purchase a home, further assists in healthy childhood development for those whose parent was
helped.
For more information, visit http://www.phputah.org