“Born Poor” documentary: In-depth look at child poverty in America

“Born Poor” is a documentary that follows three characters from childhood to adulthood and provides a longitudinal look at the realities of growing up poor in America. More than a decade ago, in the Emmy-nominated documentary Poor Kids, the acclaimed PBS series FRONTLINE explored poverty in America as it’s rarely seen: through the eyes of children. Now with Born Poor it tells the stories of the now-grown children at the heart of Poor Kids — chronicling their lives from childhood to the present day, and offering a powerful, personal, and longitudinal look at the realities of growing up in poverty in the U.S.

Filmed across 14 years, it follows Kaylie, Johnny, and Brittany. When we were first introduced to them in 2011, these three kids from three families were living in the Quad Cities, a crossroads along the border of Iowa and Illinois on the Mississippi River that had been hit hard by the recession.

Lauren Mucciolo, Producer of FRONTLINE: Born Poor, joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk about the “Born Poor” documentary and her work on it.

Going back to 2011, FRONTLINE: Born Poor was the first project Mucciolo worked on for the FRONTLINE documentary series.

“We filmed them over a long period of time. We invested time getting to know their world. We said we would come back. We stayed in touch, and it was fascinating to hear what was going on,” said Mucciolo when reflecting on her initial experience working on this project.

The project took place between 2012 and 2017, showing moments from the era such as the end of the Obama years, what was occurring in the economy, and before the events of COVID-19.

“Between the time we left them in 2017 and picked up with them again in 2024, each of them had completed high school or gotten their GED, and some started families and embarked on their career,” said Mucciolo.

Throughout the film, in viewing these kids grow up with the challenges they experience, the documentary looks to highlight the adversity they overcame to be the individuals they are today.

“They have, I think, developed a beautiful relationship. They have hope. They know the importance of hope. They still dream,” said Mucciolo.

Click on the link here to watch Frontline: Born Poor: https://www.pbs.org/video/born-poor-op34mo