First Call Coalition’s 2014 BC Child Poverty Report Card

First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition with the support of SPARC BC produces an annual report card with the latest statistics on child and family poverty in British Columbia. This is done in conjunction with the release of the national child poverty report card by Campaign 2000.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Canada’s promise to end child poverty. In this past quarter century a whole generation of British Columbian children have grown up, yet far too many of them have been hampered in reaching their full potential by growing up in poverty.

First Call has been tracking child and family poverty rates in BC for nearly two decades. Our first provincial report card containing data for 1994 showed that one in five BC children were poor. It is profoundly disappointing that eighteen years later the data still shows that one in five BC children are poor.

We know that such a widespread problem requires policy changes and social investments from our provincial and federal governments. It’s a question of priorities. The BC Child Poverty Report Card includes a list of recommendations that would make a real difference to the size and depth of BC’s child and family poverty problem.

READ THE FULL REPORT CARD

INTRODUCTION

DATA SOURCES AND POVERTY MEASURES

FACTSHEET 1: High Child Poverty Rates Persist Over Time

FACTSHEET 2: BC’s Poverty Rates Still High

FACTSHEET 3: BC Child Poverty by Family Type

FACTSHEET 4: Depth of Family Poverty

FACTSHEET 5: Child Poverty and Working Parents

FACTSHEET 6: Families With Children on Welfare

FACTSHEET 7: Incomes of Families With Children – Growing Inequality

FACTSHEET 8: Importance of Government Help

FACTSHEET 9: Child Poverty Across British Columbia