A new report has found that 16 million children in the United States live in poverty, almost a quarter of the U.S. population. Child poverty is now at its highest point, in the U.S. in two decades. CCTV America’s Hendrik Sybrandy reported this story from Denver.

In Denver, Colorado, Faith Calhoun said she and her husband often struggle to provide for their daughter Olivia, who is only 7 years old. The family are among the 16 million Americans who live in poverty. They don’t have a car, and often face difficulty providing clothing and food for their child.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, one in four children in the U.S. does not have enough to eat, and seven million children don’t have health insurance.

“Their families aren’t able to put food on the table every night. They’re not able to go to the doctor when they need to go to the doctor. I think that’s shocking to people,” said Chris Watney, president and CEO of the Colorado Children’s Campaign.

A study in Colorado showed that the number of kids living in poverty has continued to climb, even after the Great Recession. Some say the economic recovery in the U.S. has barely touched the underclass, and hurt children in areas like education.

“We know that kids living in poverty are not achieving at the same levels academically that other kids are doing,” Watney said.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics study, although children make up 24 percent of the U.S. population, only eight percent of federal expenditures are focused on children.

The Calhouns are in a transitional program run by the Denver Rescue Mission, learning the skills they need to make it on their own. They’d like to own a food cart one day.

“That’s what we’d like to do is get our family out of poverty,” said Faith Calhoun said.

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