Many kids come home after school to empty houses, with little or no adult supervision and spare time to fill. As a result, United Way-funded research indicates that children are experiencing a rising sense of social isolation.
As many as forty one per cent of kids in grades 4 to 7 say they’ve been bullied and/or bullied others monthly.
BC has the highest child poverty rate in Canada. It’s the only province where child poverty rates were actually higher in 2006 than in 1997.
Children from low-income families are less likely to do well at school, have lower literacy levels and are more likely as adults to suffer from job insecurity, underemployment, and poor health.
Almost 30% children living in the Lower Mainland are not ready to succeed in school by age 6.
Research shows that for every dollar invested in high quality child care, at least two dollars are saved by reduced social costs and increased work productivity. For children in high risk situations, the payback can be as high as 7 to 1.
One in four children in First Nations communities are living in poverty.
