By Paul Davis
One in five Rhode Island children live with a parent who has no job or is working part time, says a report released Monday by First Focus, a Washington D.C.-based children's advocacy organization.
According to the report, 27,300 Rhode Island children -- or 22 percent -- are living with at least one parent struggling to make ends meet due to loss of a job or who is under-employed. The national average is 17 percent.
"About one in five Rhode Island children live with an unemployed or underemployed parent, so Ocean State leaders in Congress should be doing everything they can to prevent kids from falling through the cracks," said First Focus president Bruce Lesley.
The national ratio is one in six children, according to the report.