Foreclosures Affecting Children

Posted on May 22, 2008
Filed Under Foreclosure Homes |

According to a recently published report foreclosures are badly affecting children – nearly 2 million of them. This is the first comprehensive analysis of its kind. It is apprehended that the number will further increase with the intensifying of the foreclosure crisis. It is affecting children in a snowballing effect and not merely those evicted by foreclosures. There are many children whose families were renters and got thrown out abruptly. Others came from a background of parents defaulting in conventional loans. The worst years are 2008 –2009.

The report has gone through state-by-state figures of those children directly affected by the foreclosure crisis. It leads to breaks in the child’s education and other matters related to their physical and mental health. When a child loses the house that was its home behavioral problems invariably arise. Peer relationships break and children lose friends when uprooted from familiar surroundings. It takes a lot of adjustment to acclimatize to new neighbourhoods.

There is a lot of talk about the impact of the mortgage crisis on stock markets and the general national economy. But who thinks about the two million little ones made pawns in this adult game of foreclosures? Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus – children’s advocacy groups is worried. “When families lose their homes, kids often lose their schools and access to services. Such changes not only impact their education but their physical and mental health as well.”

Data has been collected based on ethnic and racial figures, under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. According to it 505,600 Hispanic children, 281,200 Afro-American children and 1.166 million white and other children will be directly affected by the ongoing foreclosure catastrophe. This means a total of 1.952 million children are in the danger zone.

The chain reaction of it can well be surmised. The children are mentally and physically unwell but the family hardly has the money to pursue treatment having just suffered foreclosure. Little is left over for health care and insurance. Children continuously on the move will not be as good in their reading skills as their contemporaries. Eventually they will be kept back and this will lead to more dropouts. It does not bode well for the socio-economic health of the nation with millions of angry children growing into adults. Violence will inevitably rise.

Phillip Lovell of First Focus and Julia Issacs of Brookings Institution took the lead in authoring the report.