family of 4 was considered poor under the U.S. Census Bureau’s official measure if the family’s income was below $22,314. (9) The economic consequences of poverty in the United States are estimated to be at least $500 billion per year (Center for American Progress, 2007). (10) Children who grow up in poverty experience higher crime rates, decreased productivity, and higher health costs over their lives (Center for American Progress, 2007). (11) 3,500,000 seniors lived in poverty in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). (12) Young Americans, ages 18–24, experience a higher poverty rate than the national average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). (13) 16,400,000 children lived in poverty in 2010—more than one in every five American children (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). (14) Almost 35 percent of African-American children and over 30 percent of Hispanic children lived in poverty in 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). (15) The 46,180,000 of Americans in poverty in 2010 was the largest number yet recorded in the 52 years for which poverty estimates are available (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011). (16) The United States overseas territories have high levels of poverty and varying access to Federal anti-poverty programs. Poverty rates in 2009 for people over 18 were 41.4 percent in Puerto Rico, 53.7 percent in Guam, 65.1 percent in the United States Virgin Islands, 66.6 percent in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and 52.6 percent in American Samoa. (17) Individuals and families in poverty are more socially vulnerable to natural disasters, extreme weather and impacts of climate change and have greater difficulty preparing for, responding to and recovering from such events (Oxfam America, 2009). (18) Children who live in families who fall into poverty for even short periods of time are at greater risk of a lifetime of lower earnings, lower educational attainment, and increased reliance on public services and increased rates of incarceration (First Focus, 2008). (19) It is estimated that the additional 3 million children who