New Census figures reveal over half of Rochester city children, 55 percent, live in poverty.
And that's bad news for both our kids and our community.
That from Dr. Jeff Kaczorowski, a pediatrician and president of the Children's Agenda.
He says children living in poverty face multiple health effects such as increased infant mortality, low birth weight, health and developmental problems.
Beyond health, he says the consequences of poverty for children extends to their overall well being, with poor education outcomes. And that affects our community as a whole.
Dr. Kaczorowski says while we as a community are improving the outcomes for those children, more must be done to lift families out of poverty.
He says most families in the city of Rochester work, and they're trying -- but community leaders need to make choices that will reward that effort, and help those families gain economic independence and vitality.
Dr. Kaczorowski believes poverty is not our destiny as a community, and it's a problem that can be overcome.