1 in 6 Oklahomans live under poverty line

At Infant Crisis Services on Lincoln this weekend, some special little ones got some special seats---designed to protect them.Morgan Francis brought her kids to fit them for car seats, since they spend a lot of time in the car."I'm a busy mom, so I have to go to school, take kids to school, go to appointments," Francis said.The event helps protect families in or near poverty --- a number that's held steady in Oklahoma.According to the new numbers out from the census bureau, nearly 1 in 6 Oklahomans live under the poverty line or roughly 600,000 people---the equivalent to the population of Oklahoma City.Oklahoma City's poverty rate states at nearly 18%.It's an issue Miki Farris sees as the founder of Infant Crisis Services that brings her to do events like the car seat giveaway."Many of our families that we serve at Infant Crisis Services can't afford to buy a car seat, so their children are either not riding in a car seat at all, or they're riding in a borrowed car seat, an expired car seat, a car seat that may have been in a wreck, and those will not keep the baby safe and so we're installing a new car seat that fits the baby just perfectly," Farris said.But with low unemployment, groups like the Oklahoma Policy Institute say those who fall into poverty are the working poor.In a statement, policy director Gene Perry explains, "Politicians like to talk about our low unemployment, but it s clear that a huge number of families are working hard but not getting ahead.""As long as Oklahoma continues to block minimum wage increases, underfund education and refuse billions in federal funds to expand health coverage, it s not going to get any easier to move up the economic ladder."But not everyone agrees. Many people say Oklahoma is the place to be to get a leg up. Economic groups say there's an abundance of jobs and a low cost of living here.To find the poverty rate for your city, click here.