A Living Wage: A Safety Net for Children
Working mother (Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash)
You might think that raising the minimum wage only provides economic benefits to the workers who receive the new wage. But this overlooks very strong health and security benefits accruing to newborns and older children in the families of those workers. A higher income for low-wage workers leads directly to better health for expectant mothers and a higher survival rate for newborns. It also reduces the frustration and anger among low-wage workers and their families that lead to child abuse and neglect.
Infant mortality in the United States is driven almost entirely by excess infant deaths among low-income mothers. In 2023, approximately 9.8% of live births in West Virginia were low birth weight, which is defined as babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds (2,500 grams). This means that about 1 in 10 babies born in West Virginia were low birth weight. Low birth weight is a significant contributor to infant mortality. Even when they survive, low birth rate infants are associated with an average cost of $114,437 in medical expenses in the first year of their lives.
In 2016 the National Institutes of Health reported on a state-level study to determine the effect of an increase in minimum wage on infant mortality and low birth weight. The study concluded that a $1 increase in the minimum wage can lead to a 1% to 2% decrease in low weight births and a 4% decrease in post neonatal mortality. There is no reason to think that these statistics are not equally valid in 2025.
If a child in a low-income family survives their first year of life, they are still at risk for abuse and neglect. Family income is strongly associated with risk for child maltreatment. In 2022, West Virginia had 5,510 child victims of abuse or neglect, at a rate of 15.7 children per 1,000. In 73% of these cases the perpetrators of child maltreatment were parents.
Studies have found that increases in minimum wage are linked to a decrease in reported cases of child neglect, particularly among young children. For example, a study from Indiana University and the University of Connecticut reported a 9.6% decrease in reported child neglect cases for every $1 increase in the minimum wage. The potential link between minimum wage and child neglect may be related to the fact that increased income can lessen financial stress for families, potentially reducing the likelihood of neglectful behaviors.
Foster care is often where abused and neglected children end up, but West Virginia’s foster care system is in shambles. Increasing the minimum wage is a smart policy means of saving children, while reducing the strain on our foster care system for those children already in foster care.
