Report: Delaware Co. top in state for child poverty

MUNCIE, Ind. — Delaware County has the highest percentage of children living in poverty in the state, according to a new report.

In 2015, 31.2 percent of children, ages 0-17, were living in poverty, according to the Kids Count in Indiana 2017 Data Book. The Indiana Youth Institute released the new version of the annual report in February.

That puts Delaware County higher than Indiana's average (20.4) and the national average (20.7).

The year before, Jay County had the highest percentage, at 35.2. Delaware County's percentage increased from 2014, and was the highest it had been in five years.

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"Any time you see those types of numbers impacting your children, it's very disturbing," Mayor Dennis Tyler told The Star Press. "My concern is, if those children are living in poverty, wouldn't you think their parents are, too?"

Tyler had already seen the figures when The Star Press asked for his comment last week, but he said he hadn't had a chance to do research it deeply, and still intended to. There are "a lot of factors" he needs to try to understand, he said.

One problem Tyler said he's heard consistently is that businesses aren't able to find local people with the skills to fill job openings.

"I hear every day that we have jobs everywhere that are available and they can't find the talent to fill those jobs," Tyler said. "How do we increase their talent or give them the training they need to possibly get them in those positions that are available? That's always been my challenge."

He said education and local school systems will be a huge part of working to lower the poverty in the county.

Muncie Community Schools board member Jason Donati posted about the data on Facebook on March 12, saying he was sharing it "with great sadness and concern."

At MCS, about 75 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a much greater percentage than any of the other districts in the county, the report showed. The other districts' percentages are closer to the state rate, 45.7 percent.

"This is an extremely alarming number, and thankfully MCS has begun to help," Donati wrote in his post.

At the beginning of the school year, MCS expanded its universal breakfast program to offer free breakfast to every student at all the elementary and middle schools.

The Southside Middle School Panther Pantry also collects donations of food and other necessities to help make sure students have what they need through the weekend and breaks. The pantry offers a food giveaway for MCS families once a month.

But the district is struggling with its own financial crisis, dealing with an $11.5 million structural deficit and serious cash flow concerns, which Donati pointed out on Facebook.

"If we all start to make public education our top priority, we will see the quality of life around us improve," he said in the post.