W.Va. Senate panel studies roots of child poverty - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

W.Va. Senate panel studies roots of child poverty

Posted: Updated:
  • Sunday, May 19 2013 1:22 PM EDT2013-05-19 17:22:27 GMT
    (AP)- It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery
    (AP)- It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery
  • Local NewsLocal News

  • Sunday, May 19 2013 7:31 PM EDT2013-05-19 23:31:31 GMT
    911 operators said crews are on the scene cleaning up after a mudslide happened on Route 3 by Dry Hill Road in Raleigh County on Sunday. No injuries have been reported. The Bradley-Prosperity Volunteer
    911 operators said crews are on the scene cleaning up after a mudslide happened on Route 3 by Dry Hill Road in Raleigh County on Sunday.
  • Sunday, May 19 2013 6:41 PM EDT2013-05-19 22:41:45 GMT
    59 News got a sneak-peek on Sunday into the Boy Scout Jamboree that will be at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Fayette County this summer. With over 100,000 square feet of outdoor skateboard parks, dozens
    59 News got a sneak-peek on Sunday into the Boy Scout Jamboree that will be at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Fayette County this summer.
  • Sunday, May 19 2013 1:22 PM EDT2013-05-19 17:22:27 GMT
    (AP)- It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery
    (AP)- It's all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -

Both speakers at the first meeting of the West Virginia Senate's select committee on child poverty said that the state's high teen pregnancy rate is a leading cause of childhood poverty.


The statistics presented Wednesday show a vicious circle: children who grow up in poverty are more likely to become teen parents and then drop out of high school, meaning their children are more likely to grow up in poverty and become teen parents themselves.

West Virginia ranks 40th nationally in teen pregnancy rates.

Edcuation Alliance president Patricia S. Kusimo said that it is crucial to focus on early childhood in order to break the cycle.

Kusimo said that poverty and poor living conditions create toxic stress in very young children that adversely affects brain development.