Colorado Slips In Child Well-Being

According to the report from the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, African-American kids in MI were more than three times as likely to live in poverty than their white counterparts, at 47 percent.

“High housing costs remain a significant challenge in our state. Our kids deserve to do more than survive; they deserve to thrive!”

“Montana has been on the bottom consistently, ” Calder said.

The 2017 national Kids Count Data Book was released Tuesday and it ranks IN 28th out of 50 for overall child well-being.

IN is ranked 28th this year in the KIDS COUNT Data Book.

The study looked at four major pillars as markers: family and community, the economy, education and health.

“There have been struggles around the health domain for a while, ” Calder said. Seven percent of Oklahoma’s kids now lack coverage, a 30 percent decrease between 2010 and 2015.

In 2015, there were 103 youth deaths in Montana — up from 70 deaths the year before.

McKinney said the spike in child and teen deaths is troubling, and should jump-start what are often seen as hard conversations about suicide prevention.

Vehicle fatalities and suicides drove the increase.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 15-to-17-year-olds in Georgia, behind auto crashes.

A long-awaited weighted-funding formula will pump $72 million in the next two years to some of the state’s lowest-achieving students who are either English language learners or from low-income families.

Nebraska’s health rank is one of the most concerning. Data shows that kids with health insurance have better outcomes over their lifetimes, including higher graduation rates and lower smoking rates.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book found that the greatest improvements made were economic. Ninety-six percent of Kentucky children are enrolled in health coverage, up from 94 percent in 2013. Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and SC also had declines of over 50%, according to the report. Expansion of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Premium under the Affordable Care Act, as well as the Oregon Health Plan, have been key to health improvements.

The percentage of children with health insurance improved to 96 percent, surpassing the national average.

Laila Bell is the director of research and data with the group NC Child. We should all demand that our elected officials, policymakers and other stakeholders base their actions on the facts, with a clear eyed focus on how the choices we make today will affect our children, our families, our communities and our shared future. But the newest numbers are from 2015 and don’t reflect the impact the lack of a state budget has had on programs.