Sadly, race here is a strong predictor, independent of maternal education and family income levels (you use maternal education in poverty analysis, because the father is frequently nowhere to be found). In particular, being a black male accounts for a lot of variance. read more
I thought the greatest predictor of poverty was a stable family. When two adults are working in harmony to raise a family, you have much higher chance of economic success. Economic success being avoidance of long term poverty and the children doing better then the parents. read more