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Hispanic children now make up the largest group of kids living in poverty. The Pew Hispanic Center report says the increase in poverty can be attributed to the grim economy.

The study shows 6.1 million Hispanic children are poor, compared to 5 million white, non-Hispanics, and 4.4 million black children.

This is the first time poor Hispanic children outnumber other racial groups.

Mark Hugo Lopez is the Associate Director of the Pew Hispanic Center. He says the U.S. recession is the largest reason for the problem, in addition to population growth and high birth rate.

"What’s interesting about this is that Latino children make up a quarter of the nation’s children, Lopez said. "And how these young people mature, the kind of adults that they become, will have implications for the nation as a whole simply because they are such a large share of the nation’s children population."

He adds that one in five children of all races, nationwide, live in poverty, which is defined as a household income of just over $22,000 for a family of four.