ALMOST ONE in every two Jamaican children 18 and younger live in poverty, says a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

That age group accounts for about one-quarter of the nation's poor, says the report titled 'Changing the Future for Jamaica's Children'.

Launched yesterday at Kings House by Lady Cooke, wife of the Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, the report pinpointed the social and economic impact of rising poverty levels on the welfare of Jamaican children.

Poverty produces inequalities in the education system, with poorer children likely to arrive at school tired and hungry and having less support at home to help them do well in the school system, says the report.

"Children from the wealthiest quintile (20 per cent of the population), especially those attending private, fee-paying primary schools, have tended to be more likely to succeed in the Common Entrance Examination (replaced last year by the GSAT) and gain access to one of the more prestigious high schools. Children from the poorest quintile are still more likely to attend all-age or new secondary schools."

In the case of family, the report notes that children from lower-income families are often exposed to inadequate day care arrangements. Their parents, who are pre-occupied with making ends meet, simply cannot find the time for the quality care and upbringing of their children, says the report.

In the community, poverty has undermined volunteerism and community-based activism and communities have disintegrated as its members seek employment opportunities elsewhere, continues the report.

The ranks of the poor have swelled as redundancies push up the levels of unemployment and underemployment. Limited resources have also resulted in a reduction in the quality delivery of basic social services, the report states.

"All of these manifestations had a greater impact on the more remote areas of the country and on the poor than on the middle and upper classes in urban Jamaica."

In general the report, UNICEF's first formal publication since 1995, says early childhood care and education, high levels of antisocial behaviour leading to crime and violence, low levels of economic growth and high levels of unemployment and under-employment pose serious challenges to the country as it works to improve the lot of those 18 and younger who make up 37.3 per cent of the population.

In addition, 'Changing the Future for Jamaica's Children' recommends decentralisation and community empowerment; expansion and improvement of early childhood care and education; increasing resources for children and basic social services; and improving the quality of social sector information as some of the methods to improve the present condition.