Although teen pregnancy and birth rates have declined in the Latino community, they have not declined nearly as rapidly as they have among other racial/ethnic groups.

• In 2005, 17 percent of children lived in families with incomes below the poverty line - a percentage that had not changed since 2003. 
• The groups most likely to be living in poor families included black and Hispanic children, children living in single-mother families, and children under age 6. 
• Children under 18 are much more likely than adults to be poor.
• Being raised in poverty ($19,806 in 2005 for a family of four with two children) places children at higher risk for a wide range of problems.

• The percentage of children whose single mothers were employed full-time declined from 50 percent in 2002 to 47 percent in 2003 and 2004.
  • This decline came after the percentage had increased substantially from 39 percent in 1996 (the year in which welfare reform was first implemented) to 50 percent in 2002.
• The percentage of children with at least one resident parent employed full-time, full-year increased steadily, from 72 percent in 1990 to 80 percent in 2000, before gradually decreasing after 2000.
• Increases during the 1990 to 2000 period were particularly large for children in families headed by single parents, non-Hispanic black children, and children in poor families.
• Since the year 2000, the percentage of children with at least one parent employed full time has decreased to 78 percent in 2004.