WASHINGTON (TIP): : Nearly half of children in the US live dangerously close to the poverty line and more kids today are likely to live in families barely able to afford their most basic needs, a new report has claimed. The report by researchers from the National Centre for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University illustrates the severity of economic instability and poverty conditions faced by more than 31 million children throughout the US.

“These data challenge the prevailing beliefs that many still hold about what poverty looks like and which children in this country are most likely to be at risk,” said Renee WilsonSimmons from NCCP.

“The fact is, despite the significant gains we have made in expanding nutrition and health insurance programmes to reach the children most in need, millions of children are living in families still struggling to make ends meet in our lowwage economy,” she said.

According to researchers, the number of poor children in the US grew by 18%from 2008 to 2014, and the number of children living in low-income households grew by 10%.

NCCP defines a low-income household as one where incomes fall below 200% of the Federal Poverty Threshold ($48,016 for a family of four with two children in 2014).

A family is considered poor if its earnings are below 100% of the poverty threshold ($24,008 for a family of four with two children in 2014). More than four in 10 US children are living close to the poverty line. While 44% of children live in low-income households, only 33%of adults between 18 and 64 years of age live in these households. (PTI)