The official poverty level is established by the federal government. It is based on the estimated cost of an “economy food budget” or shopping cart of food, multiplied by three. The poverty level is adjusted for family size, the age of the head of the household, and the number of children under age 18. Annual adjustments to the poverty index are made for the cost of living based on the Consumer Price Index. Relative measures of poverty are not based on a standard. Instead, they are relative to the entire population’s income, and as such change over time. The food basket approach to defining poverty thresholds, while easy to understand, is limited. The food basket approach estimates what a family requires to meet its basic needs. Estimates of effects of poverty upon children are often made looking at income, rather than focusing on “a” poverty line. Relatively little information exists in developmental literature vis-a-vis the effects of poverty upon children.
