‘Race and place’ skew Louisiana child poverty, group says

Twenty-four percent of children in East Baton Rouge Parish lived in poverty in 2007, compared with 16% of children in Ascension Parish and 15% in Livingston Parish, according to a detailed report by Agenda for Children. The New Orleans-based non-profit profiled child well-being in all 64 Louisiana parishes and noted that “race and place” play an obvious role in the incidence of child poverty. Citing Census data, the group said in 2007, about 46% of black children lived in poverty, compared with 13% of white children. In East Baton Rouge Parish public schools, 88% of black students ate free or subsidized lunches, compared with 35% of white students; in Ascension Parish, the disparity was greater, while in Livingston Parish, it was smaller. From 2004 to 2006, the rate of low-birth-weight babies among blacks was more than twice the rate among whites in East Baton Rouge Parish; the disparity was slightly less in Ascension and Livingston parishes. The 2006 birth rate for 15- to 19-year-olds among blacks in East Baton Rouge Parish was 71 per 1,000, compared with 18 among 1,000 whites. The full 2009 Louisiana Kids Count Data Book is available by clicking here.—Todd R. Brown