Dive Brief:
- The 2016 Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found overall improvements in education and health nationwide, but losses when it comes to economic well-being, as well as the family and community domains.
- Kids in Minnesota were ranked at the top of the child well-being index, followed by those in Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire and Connecticut, while those at the other end of the spectrum saw Mississippi at the bottom, followed by New Mexico, Louisiana, Nevada and Alabama.
- CNN reports only 23% of fourth graders were considered proficient at reading in New Mexico, and only 17% of Alabama eighth graders were considered proficient at math, but only 6% of children went without health insurance nationwide, up 40% from the numbers in 2008.
Dive Insight:
The Kids Count methodology analyzes child well-being across economic, education, health, and family and community indicators, each with specific metrics that contribute toward a state’s overall rank. The 2016 study found more children are growing up in single-parent families, and a greater share of the nation’s children live in high-poverty neighborhoods. In the category of economic well-being, New Mexico is notable for having 30% of children living in poverty, the highest rate in the country. But California is perhaps equally troubling, ranking fourth from the bottom in economic well-being for children, because one in eight of the nation’s children lives there.
Striking in the educational statistics was the fact that even in the states where the greatest portion of students are considered proficient in reading and math, fully half of students still do not meet this threshold. The nation’s graduation rate is at an all-time high, however, at 82%.