Louisiana has the nation's highest child poverty rate. It could worsen with the federal shutdown.

WASHINGTON — Few likely are surprised that Louisiana, per capita, has more children living in poverty than any other state.

One in 5 Louisiana children live in poverty, according to the report released last week by the influential Annie E. Casey Foundation.

If food stamps were removed from the equation — as threatened nationwide on Saturday because of the partisan stalemate that prolongs a federal government shutdown — Louisiana’s child poverty ratio would increase to roughly 1 in 3, the analysis contends .

That works out to 263,599 of Louisiana’s 1,066,394 children under the age of 18 years living in poverty right now and 383,902 who would live in poverty without the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

In Baton Rouge , 25,520 now live in poverty, which would incr