Children raised in impoverished environments are at higher risk for a wide variety of health and social problems, including poor performance in school. The challenges they face in childhood can diminish their chances for successful adult lives, Studies have found that the stress of living in poverty can cause biological changes in children that can lead to long-term health problems. Throughout the nation, racial disparities across many indicators of well-being (including poverty rates) are persistent, troubling and in need of attention.

Lancaster County's child poverty rate for Hispanic children was 3 percentage points lower than Pennsylvania and the same as the nation. For African-American children, the county's poverty rate was slightly higher than the state (37%) and the nation (35%). While all neighboring counties had racial and ethnic disparities in 2014-18, Chester County had some of the lowest rates of poverty in the region.

Large and persistent disparities in poverty rates are the result of historic and current policies and practices that disadvantaged people of color. Research has connected slavery and the inability of black Americans even after emancipation to fully participate in economic life to the wealth and income gaps still present today. Poverty crosses generations, resulting in high rates of child poverty rates. Factors include: living in a single-parent household, especially if the single parent is female; having parent(s) who are unemployed, employed and/or underemployed in low-wage jobs or incarcerated; and living in communities that have experienced disinvestment and have ineffective and/or under-resourced schools.

Child populations for most local areas, when broken down by race and ethnicity, were too small to yield reliable survey results. Poverty status is not reported for people in institutions, including college dormitories and military barracks, and people in living situations without conventional housing. The Census Bureau asks people to identify their race (white, African American, etc.) separate from their ethnicity (Hispanic or non-Hispanic). So the totals for these categories cannot be added together, as people may show up in both a racial and ethnic group.