[Indiana] Report: Poverty leads to educational crisis in county

from The Fort Wayne News Sentinel

By Sheena Dooley

According to the United Way of Allen County, more Fort Wayne families live in poverty than ever before, leaving more children at risk of failing in the classroom.

Since 2003, the percentage of people living in poverty in Allen County has exceeded the state average, according to a report released Monday by the United Way’s Success By 6 program. Success By 6 is a United Way initiative started almost two years ago with the cooperation of public and private partners to ensure children are healthy, nurtured and ready to start school.

Locally, more than 17,200 children under age 5 come from impoverished families, almost a 10 percent increase from five years ago. Nationally, 17 percent of children come from families living in poverty. In Indiana 13 percent do, and in Allen County 18 percent do. They also are more likely to come from single-parent, African-American or Hispanic families, the report said.

The increase comes at a time when programs such as Head Start, which aims to help low-income children get an early start on their education, lack the federal and state support they need, said the United Way’s Nancy Flennery.

Indiana, she said, is one of a handful of states providing minimal funding. That has forced programs such as Head Start to raise their income-eligibility guidelines and serve fewer youths.

“We cannot address an issue or a problem until we understand it,” said Roger Moll, vice chairman of Success By 6. “This report identifies a number of problems, and I think it’s a call to action to help the children of Allen County.”