In Arlington County, 39 percent of poor kids were Hispanic, while 19 percent were black. In Fairfax County, black and Hispanic children each made up about a third of the 19,000 poor kids.
At least a third of poor children were Hispanic in Montgomery, Loudoun and Prince William counties, while black children made up a third or more of the poor kids in Montgomery, Prince George’s, Anne Arundel and Howard counties.
The number of people seeking help from Casa of Maryland, a nonprofit group that works with low-income immigrants, has risen by a third or more since the recession began, said Director Gustavo Torres. Though its focus is to help people find jobs, Casa of Maryland is about to expand services for children and families.
“People initially come to us looking for jobs,” Torres said. “Their next question always is: ‘If you don’t have any jobs, can you help me with food? I need food for my family, I need food for my kids, I cannot eat tonight.’ It’s really sad to see. We didn’t face this kind of challenge before.”
He said Casa of Maryland has formed partnerships with food pantries. Once a month, the pantries bring groceries to the organization’s work centers to distribute.
The reason for the growing need is clear to Torres: “The main priority for our children and parents is jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
In the Pew study, many of the factors affecting whether a child is likely to live in poverty are the same across races and ethnicities.
Poverty was most prevalent in families headed by a single mother, or parents who are unemployed or have less than a high school education.
But where parents were born also played a role. The poverty rate among Hispanic children with immigrant parents was 40 percent, compared with 28 percent for children whose parents were born in the United States.
Staff researcher Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
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