Today, First Focus Campaign for Children submitted the following testimony to the Work & Welfare Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on “Measuring Poverty: How the Biden Administration Plans to Redraw the Poverty Line and Rob Resources from Rural America.”
Excerpt from the Testimony
All kids have the right to live full and joyful lives, yet we allow millions of children each year in the United States to experience poverty and material hardship that prevents them from thriving and reaching their full potential.
Poverty can have lifelong negative implications for children by causing children to experience hardship and deprivation at a time when their brains are undergoing critical stages of development. Poverty means less money for food, safe and stable shelter, diapers, and other necessities that children need to be healthy and focus in school. Science continues to emerge that poverty directly impacts child brain development. The early stages of a landmark study, Baby’s First Years, shows so far that an increase in household income increases fast brain waves in babies, which are helpful to the brain development they need for learning.