The U.S. Census Bureau Nov. 18 released the 2008 poverty estimates for every school district and county in the nation. Data for Fayette County showed more than 5 percent of children ages 5-17 living in families in poverty.

The data is part of the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, representing the only current source of Census Bureau poverty data for each of the nation’s 3,142 counties and almost 14,000 Title I-eligible school districts.

The Fayette data showed 1,029 children, or 5.3 percent, in poverty out of a population of 19,250 children ages 5-17. Fayette County’s 2008 estimated population was 106,465.

A survey of area counties showed Coweta County with 2,862 children aged 5-17 in poverty, or approximately 11 percent of the 24,944 children of the same age in a county of 122,924.

Clayton County data showed 10,816 school-aged children, or 19 percent, out of a school population of 57,618 living in poverty with a countywide population of 273,718.

And in Henry County, figures revealed 4,153, or 10 percent of school-aged children, living in poverty in a county with a school population of 41,387 and a total population of 191,502.

SAIPE numbers track data from federal tax information, administrative records on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation, Census 2000 statistics and annual population estimates.

The Census Bureau data is used as one of the criteria to allocate federal funds to local jurisdictions. In addition, state and local programs use these data for distributing funds and managing school programs, according to the Census Bureau.