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Cuanto Nos Cuesta
How much is child poverty costing us? What can we do about it?
Puerto Rico stands at a critical moment as it carves its future. The economic model that guided development for decades is no longer feasible and our children now carry an even heavier load over their shoulders.
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A Future of Child Poverty: How Much It Costs and What We Can Do About It
This report:
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Presents evidence on the impacts of poverty on Puerto Rican children
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Quantifies the annual cost of child poverty
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Develops a road map to significantly reduce poverty in 3 to 10 years
This report was possible through the contributions of Filantropía Puerto Rico and Anne E. Casey Foundation.
ESTUDIOS
How much does child poverty costs us?
$5,000
$4,500
$4,000
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
$4,418
$1,969
$1,376
$1,072
Total
Lost earnings
Health
Crime
COSTOS
Cost of Child Poverty and Cost of Solutions
Poverty Cost
Policy Cost
Policy Combination 1 Cost Comparison
$44,180
$20,090
$13,254
$6,474
$10,790
$21,581
Year 3
Year 5
Year 10
Poverty Cost
Policy Cost
Policy Combination 2 Cost Comparison
$44,180
$20,090
$13,254
$7,224
$12,041
$24,081
Year 3
Year 5
Year 10
Costo de la pobreza
Costo de la Política Pública
Policy Combination 3 Cost Comparison
$44,180
$20,090
$13,254
$8,314
$13,857
$27,714
Año 3
Año 5
Año 10
GUÍA
Roadmap Towards Decreasing Child Poverty
Políticas
Poverty Reduction Percentage at 10 year mark 100%
Number of children lifted out of poverty
Maintain the local Earned Income Tax Credit at its current levels
Extend the Federal Child Tax Credit to families with one or two children
Create a Welfare-to-Work Opportunity Tax Credit
11,494 children
3.0%
Tax Policies
3.6%
13,793 children
4,215 children
1.1%
Tax Policies
Expand government-subsidized jobs for parents and youth
Create a universal child allowance program ($150 per child)
13,410 children
3.5%
Economic and Work Policies
8.3%
31,801 children
58,239 children
15.2%
Create a universal child allowance program ($100 per child)
Economic and Work Policies
Extend after-school programs to children in public schools
Introduce whole-family two-generation models to public schools
20,307 children
3.5%
Removing Barriers to Work Policies
1.7%
6,513 children
20,307 children
5.3%
Ensure access to early child development programs to all children aged 0 to 5
Removing Barriers to Work Policies
Develop a sector-based Work Training program
Revamp high school and associate degree completion programs
11,494 children
.3%
Human Capital Development Policies
.2%
13,793 children
Human Capital Development Policies
We organized the proposed policies into
3 combinations:
Policy
Policy Combination
1
Policy Combination
2
Policy Combination
3
Maintain the local Earned Income Tax Credit at its current levels
Extend the Federal Child Tax Credit to families with one or two children
Create a Welfare-to-Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Expand government-subsidized jobs for parents and youth
Create a universal child allowance program
Ensure access to early child development programs to all children aged 0 to 5
Extend after-school programs to children in public schools
Introduce whole-family two-generation models to public schools
Develop a sector-based Work Training program
Revamp high school and associate degree completion programs
($100 per child)
($150 per child)
We propose the following strategy to significantly decrease child poverty in
3 to 10 years. The range of percentages corresponds to poverty and extreme poverty, respectively.
Currently: Child poverty 58% | Extreme child poverty 39%
Poverty | Extreme poverty
3 years
Policy Combination 1
Policy Combination 2
Policy Combination 3
49% | 27%
48% | 25%
45% | 20%
5 years
Policy Combination 1
Policy Combination 2
Policy Combination 3
46% | 23%
45% | 21%
40% | 14%
10 years
Policy Combination 1
Policy Combination 2
Policy Combination 3
31% | 11%
36% | 9%
29% | 0%
It’s possible to significantly reduce child poverty over the next 10 year. According to our estimates, we could eliminate deep child poverty completely in 10 years!
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About Us
Who We Are
The Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud is the only organization in Puerto Rico that is committed to advocating for research and public policy designed to strengthen the financial stability of families with children and youth in Puerto Rico and therefore drastically reduce child poverty on the island. We bring about systemic change through research, community mobilization, and government relations.
How We Do It
By empowering affected
people to participate
in the public policymaking process
Through the formation of alliances because child
poverty reduction is everyone’s responsibility.
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By encouraging local and federal government leadersto rely on data
By supporting advocacy,
teaching about issues and potential solutions, and supporting
affected people
Learn more: juventudpr.org
NOSOTROS
Get involved!
Organizations
Becoming an ally for this cause means that:
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Your organization supports ending child poverty in Puerto Rico.
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Your organization is interested in placing the issue of child poverty as a priority in Puerto Rico.
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Your organization supports the comprehensive policy approach to reduce child poverty that we present in this study.
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Your organization provides your logo so that we can highlight you as a partner on our website.
The benefits of being a member include:
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Position your entity as one that is committed to Puerto Rico’s social and economic development.
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Participate in discussions about particular strategies for your entity to address child poverty.
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Be part of a network of allies that can share information, align strategies and help inform public policy at the Puerto Rico and federal level.
Only by working together can we make child poverty a priority in Puerto Rico
INVOLÚCRATE
Get involved!
Child poverty affects Puerto Rico’s productivity and quality of life and is a costly for all of us. Make your voice heard, sign up for an email newsletter for more information and join future campaigns from the Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico, including how to ensure that child poverty is a key issue in Puerto Rico’s 2020 election.
¡Únete!
Get involved!
Schedule a time with the Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico staff to discuss these public policy recommendations.
501 Ave. Roberto H. Todd
San Juan, PR 0090
P.O. Box 79526
Carolina, PR 00984-9526
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