BEND — Poverty among youth and Hispanic and Latino families nearly doubled in Deschutes County after the pandemic, new data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates.

Those rising poverty rates are a stark contrast to rising incomes among wealthy households, those making more than $200,000 annually, in the Bend-Redmond area, which saw the fourth strongest gain in the nation for average income in 2022.

Child poverty rates in Deschutes County have remained below 13% since 2018. In 2021, the rate was 6.8%. But according to the Census Bureau’s recently released American Community Survey data for 2022, which is an annual demographics survey, that number rose to 17.8%.

That means almost 1 in 5 children in Deschutes County live in poverty. Similarly, poverty rates among Hispanic and Latino residents of Deschutes County saw a significant jump in 2022 to 17.5%. That’s up from remaining between 6-8% since 2018. A family of four is living in poverty in the U.S. in 2023 if members make less than $30,000 a year.

To Josh Lehner, a senior state economist, these stats indicate rising poverty rates are impacting a very specific swath of Deschutes County’s population.

Young Hispanic and Latino families are experiencing poverty at a higher rate than before the pandemic, he said.

“It doesn’t look like in the data there was a general deterioration in income,” he said. “It’s a very narrow band of society that’s really been impacted in the 2022 data.”

Both data points put Deschutes County above the state average for youth and Hispanic and Latino Oregonians living below the poverty line.

A little assistance can go a long way

Heightened child poverty rates aren’t unique to Deschutes County or even Oregon. Rates are on the rise nationwide.

Some attribute this to Congress’ failure to renew Child Tax Credits in 2022, which were a pandemic-era program that gave up to $3,600 per child. The program caused child poverty rates to drop to record lows nationwide. However, that program isn’t accounted for in the American Community Survey’s poverty measurements.

Regardless, the rise in child poverty rates was entirely expected, said Scott Cooper, the executive director of NeighborImpact, a nonprofit that serves low-income Central Oregonians.

The payments weren’t huge, he said, but they were enough to make a difference.

“It just went away,” Cooper said.

Central Oregon families used those payments for household expenses like gas, groceries, utilities and rent, he said.

Cooper called the statistics challenging because the way poverty is measured in the United States only looks at income and not expenses.

Because of that, there are countless families toeing the poverty line.

“A little bit of money can easily shift you above the threshold still leaving you poor but not in poverty. I think that is the big distinction,” Cooper said. “You can be poor but not in poverty.”

The Oregon Legislature created its own child tax credit during the 2023 session. It goes into effect Sunday. It will offer a fully refundable $1,000 tax credit per child 5 years old and younger for families earning under $30,000.

NeighborImpact has seen an increased need among all populations, according to Autumn Rackley, the organization’s housing stabilization director, especially among families with children and Hispanic and Latino households.

“Poverty rates increase when there are gaps in systems that are intended to serve the entire population, but don’t consider the cultural implications of barriers for different races, ethnicities, abilities, etc.,” Rackley wrote in an email.

Immigration status along with high housing costs in Deschutes County put Hispanic and Latino families at a greater disadvantage. Poverty can arise directly out of an undocumented status that prevents families from accessing certain public assistance programs and housing, she said.

Hispanic and Latino residents overcome barriers

In Central Oregon, limited access to services and resources often burdens Hispanic and Latino families more than other groups, according to Leslie Cano, the immigration and advocacy coordinator for the Latino Community Association.

Despite the rising numbers, Cano hasn’t seen a huge influx in the number of people seeking services or aid from the association. Rather, it’s been steady.

“That need has always been there,” she said.

Within that need, housing is one of the most prominent issues, she said.

In addition to housing, food insecurity, employment and transportation access play major roles in local Hispanic and Latino families’ ability to build stable income and access services, she said. Medical care, is a notoriously difficult thing for many Hispanic and Latino households to access due to transportation woes, the language barrier and time spent away from work.

In Central Oregon, traveling great distances to access medical services can be a necessity, said Lindsey Stailing, the patient support program manager with Mosaic Community Health. Regardless, a poverty status can have serious health impacts.

People without adequate housing and transportation face greater health disparities due to poor food access or delayed access to medical care, Stailing said.

“And that can have lifelong consequences,” she said.

The need for care at Mosaic has risen, especially as housing and food costs also rise, according to Stailing. More downstream effects are imminent if these needs aren’t addressed.

“If we want youth and families to thrive,” she said, “we have to give them everything they need to do that.”