Newark Dealing with Baby Boom

How hard is it to raise children when you’re a single parent in New Jersey? It’s getting a lot harder in Newark where this years ”Newark Kids Count” a report released by the advocates for Children in New Jersey, shows there are roughly 4,500 babies born each year in the states largest city. That’s more than a dozen births a day with many facing impoverished conditions and being raised in single family households. 

For the first time, Kids Count examined poverty levels in Newark by age group and found that five out of 10 children age 5 and under live in poverty. From that group, a little more than half fall under the category of “extreme poverty,” or 50 percent below the federal poverty level. The federal poverty level is $22,350 for a family of four.

By contrast statewide, about two out of 10 children in New Jersey in the same age group are listed in poverty, with half in extreme poverty.

Many of these children are raised by single parents. Many of these parents are working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet while at the same time trying to provide a supportive home for their children. If you’re a single parent, or if you were raised by one, what are some of the obstacles you had to overcome to make in New Jersey?