Two new studies succinctly lay out the need for and the broad economic benefits of raising the federal minimum wage .

The Kids Count Data Book finds that the number of children living in poverty jumped by 3 million from 2005 to 2011—years marked by stagnant wages—and now 23% of the nation’s children live in poverty.

Meanwhile, a new report from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers ( ROC ) United shows that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, as legislation in Congress would do, would boost more than half of the working poor in the United States out of poverty.

The recession is hurting America’s children today and could have a negative impact on their future as well, according to two new reports. A survey of child welfare released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows child poverty increased in 38 states from 2000 to 2009. As a result, 14.7 million children, or 20 percent, were poor in 2009. That represents a 2.5 million increase from 2000, when 17 percent of the nation’s youth lived in low-income homes. Read the survey here .