Persistently poor children are significantly less likely to succeed economically as adults than their nonpoor and less-poor counterparts, according to a new study from the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty. The Partnership is supported by the Urban Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The study, Escaping Poverty, found that only 62 percent of persistently poor children complete high school compared to 90 percent of children who never experience poverty. Housing plays a role as these less successful young adults were more likely to live in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Among the Partnership’s recommendations is to “develop place-conscious strategies that address the conditions of persistently poor children’s neighborhoods and schools, as well as programs that help families experiencing poverty move out of disadvantaged neighborhoods to neighborhoods with better schools and more opportunities.”
