High-quality data on the well-being of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 keiki are now available through a long-standing partnership between the University of 麻豆传媒 at M膩noa and (HCAN). The new is an interactive website that monitors the well-being of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 children. It includes demographic, education, economic, and health and safety data.

“This project gives the public and decision makers a clearer picture of how keiki are faring across the state,” said Deborah Zysman, executive director of 麻豆传媒 Children鈥檚 Action Network鈥攁n organization that has long invested in research and uses data to promote policy that aims to ensure that all children are healthy, safe and ready to learn. “We hope this data dashboard will spark conversations and inspire solutions to ensure all children and families in 麻豆传媒 can thrive.”

The 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard provides statewide and county-level data on 19 metrics and allows users to track changes over time. Data is gathered from various state and national sources, with rolling updates to the dashboard as new data become available from original sources. The 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard represents a subset of child well-being indicators that the partnership shares on the .

“It鈥檚 difficult to make policy without good data,” said Kathleen Gauci, data center manager at the UH M膩noa Center on the Family. “We hope that the dashboard, as well as other data we make available through the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project, will serve as tools to assess where we are doing well for our children and where we need improvements.”

• Read more on KIDS COUNT research.

Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project is a partnership between , the , and the .

麻豆传媒 once again ranks 24 out of 50 states on overall child well-being, according to the , released June 17 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book is the 30th edition of an annual data study that examines trends in child well-being across areas that represent what children need most to thrive.

While all four indicators of child economic well-being tracked by the report have improved since 2010, conditions have shown little to no improvements in more recent years, with the state鈥檚 rank for this domain slipping from 30 in 2018 to 34 in 2019.

“麻豆传媒 now ranks in the bottom third when it comes to the economic well-being of our children,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director at the University of 麻豆传媒 at M膩noa鈥檚 in the .

Affordable housing challenges

Of concern is the large proportion of children living in households with a high housing cost burden. 麻豆传媒 ranks among the bottom five states on this indicator, with nearly two in five children living in these households.

“Affordable housing remains a challenge in 麻豆传媒. High housing costs present a significant challenge to low-income families that already have limited resources. When families are paying too much for housing, they have a harder time meeting other basic needs, such as child care, food and health care, and they can鈥檛 save or build financial stability,” said Stern.

麻豆传媒鈥檚 ranking in the education domain has also slipped鈥攇oing from 37 in 2018 to 40 in 2019鈥攕ignaling the ongoing need for greater investments in children鈥檚 education. Despite improvements over the past decade, the state continues to rank in the bottom third on reading and math proficiency and is ranked 33 in the on-time high school graduation rate.

• See how 麻豆传媒 has fared in previous KIDS COUNT rankings.

Findings in other domains

The annual Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank each state across four domains鈥攅conomic well-being, education, health, and family and community.

• With nearly all 麻豆传媒鈥檚 children covered by health insurance, the state ranks among the top 10 states in the health domain. The percent of low birth-weight babies, the child and teen death rate, and the percent of teens who abuse alcohol or drugs have all remained relatively stable during the period examined.
• 麻豆传媒 is similarly doing well in the family and community context, ranking 15 in this domain. With only seven percent of children living in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma, 麻豆传媒 ranks among the top 10 states on this indicator. Following the national trend, the teen birth rate has also seen a dramatic 42 percent decline during the period examined.

Not every child counted

This year鈥檚 KIDS COUNT® Data Book also calls attention to the roughly 4.5 million young children in the United States who live in neighborhoods where there is a high risk of failing to count kids in the 2020 census. With roughly 39 percent of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 young children living in hard-to-count census tracts, an undercount of young children would shortchange child well-being over the next decade by putting at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding for programs that are critical to family stability and opportunity.

For more information, read the .

麻豆传媒 falls in the middle range on overall child well-being, ranking 24th out of 50 states according to the , released June 27 by the .

The KIDS COUNT® Data Book—which examines trends in child well-being across areas that represent what children need most to thrive—found that while there have been some gains on education measures, 麻豆传媒 still falls behind in the education domain, ranking 37th in the nation.

“Reading and math proficiency rates have seen improvements over the past decade,” said , the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director at the University of 麻豆传媒 at M膩noa鈥檚 in the . “But our proficiency rates are still below the national average and 麻豆传媒 has hovered in the bottom third in the country when it comes to education for a good part of the decade. This signals a need for greater investments in our public education if we鈥檙e going to work toward greater improvements.”

Findings in other domains

The annual Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank each state across four domains—education, economic well-being, health and family and community.

• Economic well-being: 麻豆传媒 has seen improvement in almost all indicators of economic well-being over the post recession years, including the percentage of children in poverty, children whose parents lack secure employment, and children in households with a high housing cost burden. However, 麻豆传媒 continues to have one of the worst housing cost burden rates in the nation, ranking 48th on the housing indicator, and 30th in the economic well-being domain.
• Health: 麻豆传媒 continues to do well in the health domain, ranking 13th. The state has among the smallest share of children without health insurance (2 percent), tying for second in the nation on this indicator.
• Family and community: 麻豆传媒 is also doing well in the area of family and community, ranking 12th. There were no significant changes in the percentage of children in single-parent families, in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma and living in high-poverty areas over the past decade. However, following the national trend, the teen birth rate in 麻豆传媒 has continued its impressive decline and is down 42 percent from 2010.

Not every child counted

This year鈥檚 KIDS COUNT® Data Book also calls attention to the roughly 4.5 million young children in the United States who live in neighborhoods where there is a high risk of failing to count kids in the 2020 census. In 麻豆传媒, about 39 percent of children under five years live in hard-to-count census tracts.

An undercount of young children in the upcoming decennial census would short-change child well-being over the next decade by putting at risk hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding for programs that are critical to family stability and opportunity, including Head Start, SNAP, school lunches and child care subsidies. Based on census data, 麻豆传媒 receives more than $630 million annually in federal funding for programs that impact children.

For more information, read the or or (PDF).

Economic conditions may finally be improving, and families continue to offer a strong foundation for 麻豆传媒’s children, according to the released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Data Book, which examines trends in child well-being during the post-recession years, found that 麻豆传媒 now ranks 23 in child economic well-being, and 17 for child well-being overall.

“We’re seeing a steady decrease in the number of children living in families where the parents lack secure employment,” says Ivette Rodriguez Stern, the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director at the University of 麻豆传媒 at M膩noa . 鈥淎s parental employment improves, we begin to see improvements in other indicators of economic well-being.鈥�

The rate of children living in households with a high housing cost burden—defined as a household spending more than 30 percent or more of income on housing—is one indicator that has steadily improved, decreasing from 46 percent in 2010 to 38 percent in 2015. However, 麻豆传媒 still has among the worst housing cost burden rates in the nation, ranking 46th for this indicator.

“High housing costs remain a significant challenge in our state. When families spend so much of their income on housing, they have fewer resources to meet other basic needs. We all—including government and the private sector—need to come together to build more affordable housing in 麻豆传媒,鈥� said Nicole Woo, senior policy analyst at the .

Despite some improvements on individual indicators, 麻豆传媒 is lagging in the education domain, ranking 36th. Although there have been some improvements in reading and math proficiency, 麻豆传媒’s children are still below national proficiency rates and more than half of 3- and 4-year-olds are not enrolled in preschool programs.

“Access to high-quality, affordable child care and preschool must remain a priority in our state,” said Barbara DeBaryshe, interim director of the UH Center on the Family. “Strong programs support school readiness and give an extra boost to children facing the difficult odds of poverty or family hardship. Sadly, we simply do not have enough child care seats in our state, especially for infants and toddlers. We need policy incentives that allow providers to serve more children, give families more assistance paying for care and help more programs reach quality benchmarks. Investments in our keiki now will have large payoffs in the future.”

Significant 麻豆传媒 findings

The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book uses 16 indicators to rank each state across four domains that represent what children need most to thrive. Findings for 麻豆传媒 include the following:

• Three of four economic indicators—the percentage of children whose parents lack secure employment, children in households with a high housing cost burden, and teens not in school and not working—have improved since the release of the 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The percentage of children living in poverty has failed to improve past 2010 levels and returned to 14 percent in 2015.
• There were improvements in three of the four indicators in the education domain compared to 2010 data—reading and math proficiency and the percentage of high schoolers graduating on time—however, the percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds not in preschool increased by 18 percent from 2010 to 2015.
• With only 2 percent of our children lacking health insurance coverage, 麻豆传媒 continues to lead the nation in health, ranking eighth in this domain. This represents a 50 percent decrease in the percentage of kids without insurance compared to 2010.
• 麻豆传媒 is also doing well in the family and community context, ranking 10th in this domain. The teen birth rate has continued an impressive decline of 36 percent since 2010, and we have fewer children living in high poverty neighborhoods in 2015 than in 2010.

Besides emphasizing investments in early childhood education programs, with the Data Book, the Annie E. Casey Foundation demonstrates the need for protecting health insurance coverage for children and expanding programs that create economic stability for families at the state and federal levels.

鈥淲e鈥檝e done well in making sure that our children have health insurance coverage. However, health care reforms that limit federal funds coming to our state for Medicaid or that allow insurers to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions will threaten the well-being of our most vulnerable children and youth. We must continue to work hard at all levels to make sure that coverage is not jeopardized,鈥� said Stern.

Woo adds, 鈥淥n a positive note, this year the Legislature approved a state earned income tax credit (EITC). Unfortunately, the state credit is non-refundable, which will limit tax refunds available to families when the amount of their EITC is larger than what they owe in state income tax. Nevertheless, this is a great start and represents breakthrough legislation that supports low-income families and children in our state.鈥澛�

麻豆传媒 ranks 23 in the nation on overall child well-being, a slight improvement from 24th last year, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2016 KIDS COUNT^© Data Book.

The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book continues to look at child well-being in the midst of the country’s economic recovery, after the recession ended in June 2009. The data book focuses on trends over the last six years (roughly 2008 to 2014). It also examines the influence of parents’ education, health and other life circumstances on child well-being.

“The most troubling news from this year’s report is that 麻豆传媒 continues to see increases in the share of children growing up in poverty and harsh economic conditions,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director at the University of 麻豆传媒 at Mānoa’s , a unit within the . “One bright note is that, despite economic challenges, 麻豆传媒 teens are making progress.”

The teen birth rate decreased during the period examined, down 41 percent since 2008. The proportion of high school students graduating on time has increased slightly, up to 78 percent in 2012 to 2013 (the most current year for which data are available) from 76 percent in 2007 to 2008.

Areas of concern

However, despite the economic recovery and rising employment, an increasing number of 麻豆传媒’s children are growing up in economic hardship. “While we are below the national average, the percent of children in our state living in poverty increased by 50 percent between 2008 and 2014, compared to the 22 percent increase seen across the nation during that time,” explains Stern. “Our child poverty rate now stands at 15 percent, which is also slightly higher than the 13 percent reported last year.”

In addition, increases in the number of children whose parents lack secure employment and the number of children who live in high-poverty neighborhoods have persisted. And while the share of children living in households with a high housing cost burden (i.e., where more than 30 percent of the household income is spent on housing) has improved slightly (decreasing from 47 percent in 2008 to 41 percent in 2014), 麻豆传媒 has among the worst housing cost burden rates in the nation, ranking 45th out of 50 states on this indicator.

“These data understate the proportion of children growing up in economic hardship,” said Stern. “Research shows that families need income at least twice the poverty level, probably more in 麻豆传媒 given our high cost of living, just to cover basic living expenses like food, housing, transportation and childcare. According to Census data, about one-third of our children are now growing up in those low-income families that are facing the challenges of just getting by, up from a little over a quarter in 2008.”

Decades of research show how growing up in financial hardship can have profound effects on children, especially when the hardship occurs early in life, impacting their cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. If these issues go unaddressed or a child continues to experience economic hardship, chances increase for difficulties later in life, such as dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy and poor employment outcomes.

Addressing the issues

The encouraging news is that the Data Book outlines policy recommendations that are consistent with efforts gaining momentum in 麻豆传媒 to increase opportunity and reduce poverty and inequality.

“To ensure good outcomes for this generation of young children, we must continue to expand access to high quality preschool and early childhood services for keiki age birth through four,” said Barbara DeBaryshe, a specialist at the Center on the Family and an expert in early childhood education. “We currently have 19 state Pre-K classrooms located in DOE (Department of Education) schools throughout the islands. The state Legislature also recently increased funding for the Preschool Open Doors Program so that more low-income children can attend early learning programs. However, with nearly half of our three- and four-year-olds still not participating in early learning programs, we must continue to do more so that all of 麻豆传媒’s children have a fair chance to develop their potential as they grow.”

The report also provides a recommendation to ensure family economic security in the face of a health crisis or when a major family event occurs, like the birth of a child. Paid family leave is recommended as a way to help low-income families and low-wage earners balance their obligations at home and in the workplace. Legislation was proposed this past session for a paid family leave program in 麻豆传媒. While the measure did not pass, progress was made with the passage of a Senate resolution that establishes a task force to examine the benefits and costs of such a program in 麻豆传媒. “While all employees in 麻豆传媒 will be positively impacted by a paid family leave program, such a policy is especially critical for low-income families that have few resources and support when a family member is ill or a baby is born,” said Stern.

麻豆传媒’s rankings

The Data Book ranks each state on overall child well-being. 麻豆传媒 sits in the middle range for national child well-being, ranking 23 out of 50 states. Findings in the four domains measured include the following:

• Two of the four economic conditions—children in poverty and children whose parents lack secure employment—worsened over the six-year period, with the increases being statistically significant. The percent of teens (16- to 19-years-old) not in school or working has remained somewhat stable, increasing only slightly. The percent of children in households with a high housing cost burden has decreased, but 麻豆传媒 remains well above the national average (with 41 percent of children living in such households in 麻豆传媒, compared to 35 percent across the country). 麻豆传媒 ranks 32 out of 50 states in the economic well-being domain.
• Gains in the education domain have been made over the period examined. Reading and math proficiency scores improved and, though the increase has been slight, so has percentage of high school students graduating on time. However, there has been a small but statistically significant increase in the proportion of preschool-aged children not in school and 麻豆传媒 continues to rank near the bottom in the education domain (33 out of 50 states).
• The health conditions measured—percent of low-birthweight babies, children without health insurance, the child and teen death rate and the percent of teens who abuse substances—have remained relatively stable or improved slightly. 麻豆传媒 ranks 8 out of 50 states in the health domain.
• 麻豆传媒 is also doing well in the area of family and community well-being, ranking 12th out of 50 states. Two indicators—children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma and the teen birth rate—have improved. The proportion of children in single-parent families has remained somewhat stable, increasing only slightly. The share of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods (i.e., where 30 percent or more of the residents are poor) has also increased.

The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book may be viewed in its entirety at .

“We have more children in poverty now, more children living in high-poverty neighborhoods, and over a quarter of our children living in families where parents lack secure employment,” explains Ivette Rodriguez Stern of the University of 麻豆传媒 at Mānoa . That’s over 40,000 children, or about one in eight, living in poverty in 麻豆传媒鈥攚orse than in 2008, at the height of the recession. The mainland is also seeing worsening child poverty. These numbers are from the just-released from the , which presents data on education, health and family and community as well as economic well-being.

Stern, the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director, explains that three of the four economic conditions tracked have worsened since 2008. The only one that improved was the share of children living in households with a high housing burden—where more than 30 percent of household income goes for housing. Despite this improvement, 麻豆传媒 still has the fifth-worst high housing burden rate in the nation. In general, 麻豆传媒’s high cost of living makes the poverty burden worse.

Living in poverty can also worsen other outcomes for kids. “Research shows that growing up in poor and low-income households can have long-lasting effects on children’s learning, health, and earning potential as adults,” warns Marianne Berry, director of the Center on the Family.

Income boosters can help change outcomes for children

There is hope, however. “The good news,” Berry points out, “is that when we invest in the right strategies and policies, we can make a difference for kids.” Stern confirms, “Studies show that boosting low family income by just a few thousand dollars can really make a difference in changing outcomes for children, especially early in childhood.” She suggests that a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) would bolster the effects of the successful federal EITC to provide those critical dollars. High-quality and reliable early care and education programs targeting low-income families can also minimize achievement gaps caused by poverty.

The Data Book, which ranks each state on overall child well-being, shows 麻豆传媒 is right in the middle, 24 out of 50. There have been some gains in education, with steady improvements in reading and math proficiency rates and in on-time high school graduation. However, 麻豆传媒 is still near the bottom third among states in education. Health conditions鈥攑ercent of low-birthweight babies, children without health insurance, child and teen deaths, and percent of teens who abuse substances鈥攈ave remained somewhat stable since 2008, and 麻豆传媒 has the second-smallest share of children without health insurance. 麻豆传媒 is also relatively high among states in the area of family and community well-being, 11 out of 50.

• Related: (subscription required) 鈥� Star Advertiser, July 21, 2015

To read the full report, visit the .

—

A policy report released by the highlights the importance of family placements for young people in the child welfare system. The report, which emphasizes that group placements are the least favorable setting for children in foster care, also highlights the promising ways that state and local government leaders, policymakers, judges and private providers can work together as they strive to help the 56,000 children who are living in such settings throughout the country.

In the U.S., 40 percent of young people who live in group facilities while in the child welfare system have no documented behavioral or clinical need to be in such restrictive settings. Such placements have been shown to be harmful to a child’s opportunities to develop strong and nurturing attachments.

“Kids who grow up in families have the best chances for success through life,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director. “Research shows that having secure attachments provided by nurturing caregivers is critical to a child’s healthy physical, social, emotional and psychological development. Young people who don’t grow up in families are at greater risk for poor outcomes as they grow up, such as being arrested.”

Percentages of young people in group placements within states range from as low as 4 percent in Oregon to as high as 35 percent in Colorado. The good news is that 麻豆传媒 is doing well with 92 percent of children in foster care living in family settings, and only 7 percent in group placements. Nationally, 84 percent of young people in the child welfare system are in family settings, and 14 percent are in group placements.

Every kid needs a family

recommends how communities can widen the selection of services available to help parents and children under stress within their own homes, so that children have a better chance of reuniting with their birth families and retaining bonds important to their development.

“Some of what’s recommended in the policy report is already taking place in 麻豆传媒, which is the good news,” said Marianne Berry, child welfare expert and director of the at the University of 麻豆传媒 at Mānoa’s . “For example, 麻豆传媒 was recently approved to use federal foster care dollars flexibly to prevent foster care placement of children and expedite permanency for those already in foster care. These efforts will include working with service providers, with families in crisis and with extended family members so that children can move out of the child welfare system and into family settings.”

Helping more children live in families means starting with the families they already have, even those in crisis. Keeping kids connected to family 鈥� their kin if not their parents 鈥� helps them stay safe and strong. When birth parents cannot care for a child, relatives can offer an existing relationship and connection to the child’s identify and culture, making an eventual return home easier. When kin care is not possible, foster parents play a critical role in nurturing and protecting children until they reside in a permanent family. When properly supported, foster families are capable of caring for the same children who otherwise end up in group placements.

Data from this report is available on the , which also contains the most recent national, state and local data on hundreds of measures of child well-being. Data Center users can create rankings, maps and graphs for use in publications and on websites, and view real-time information on mobile devices.

—A College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources news release

The 2014 , released on July 22 by the , marks 25 years of bringing attention to national and state-level data on the well-being of children. According to data presented in the annual report, 麻豆传媒 ranks 25th out of 50 states on overall child well-being.

The report presents data on 16 indicators in four areas essential to child well-being: economic well-being, education, health and the family and community context. Recent trend data (many from 2005–2012) presented in the book show how children did mid-decade prior to the economic recession, compared to how they are faring in the aftermath. Certain conditions for 麻豆传媒’s children have improved during the period examined, however, others have worsened.

“The well-being of our children is the most important indicator of how well our state is doing in terms of longterm economic success and how well we will do in the future,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT project director. The at the University of 麻豆传媒 at Mānoa has served as 麻豆传媒’s KIDS COUNT affiliate since 1994.

“The good news is that we’re no longer slipping in rank where it comes to the overall well-being of 麻豆传媒’s children, as had been the case in recent years. We’re now somewhere in the middle and while we’re doing well in the areas of health and in the family and community context, we’re ranked much lower where it comes to the economic well-being of our children and education,” Stern added.

Over the past two decades, the nation has gained significant knowledge on how to give children a good start and help them meet major milestones throughout childhood. The report addresses this knowledge and policies that set children up for success throughout life. “One of the things that we clearly know from the research is that a focus on the early years is critical in order to promote healthy child development and to give children a strong foundation for success,” said Marianne Berry, director of the Center on the Family. “Children who have access to high quality early care and learning experiences tend to have better outcomes across domains, with life-long benefits. Efforts to improve the overall well-being of 麻豆传媒’s children must, therefore, consider investments in providing our young children with high quality care and education.”

• 麻豆传媒News story:

麻豆传媒 report data

• Three of four economic conditions worsened since the pre-recession period. However, two conditions (children in poverty and children in households with a high housing cost burden) have remained stable since the 2013 Data Book, and two conditions (children in families where parents lack secure employment and teens not in school and not working) improved slightly from the previous year. 麻豆传媒 has among the highest rates of children in households with a high housing cost burden, and continues to hover near the bottom third in the economic domain.
• Gains in the education domain have continued, with improvements in all four indicators. Despite steady improvements in reading and math proficiency and on-time high school graduation rate over the past several years, 麻豆传媒 continues to rank near the bottom third on these three indicators and in the education domain as a whole.
• 麻豆传媒 is doing relatively well in the health domain, ranking 22nd in the nation. The health conditions measured—child and teen death rate, percent of low-birth weight babies, percent of children without health insurance and percent of teens who abuse substances—have remained somewhat stable, showing little to no change over the period examined. 麻豆传媒 has among the smallest share of children without health insurance and among the lowest death rates, ranking 2nd and 7th, respectively, in the nation on these indicators.
• 麻豆传媒 is also doing well in the area of family and community well-being, ranking 13th out of 50 states. Despite this ranking, there has been a worsening on two indicators, with an upward trend in the share of children living in single-parent families and children living in high-poverty areas.

Read the for more information or go to the to download the full report.

In a new data snapshot, the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that a large majority of children in the United States are not reading proficiently by the time they reach fourth grade—a key predictor of a student’s future educational and economic success. finds that while there have been overall improvements in reading scores over the past decade, the gap between students from higher- and lower-income families is growing wider. Proficiency levels have increased significantly more for higher-income students than for their lower-income peers.

According to data presented in the , released by the , in overall child well-being. The at the serves as 麻豆传媒’s KIDS COUNT affiliate.

2013 KIDS COUNT

The Data Book presents data on 16 indicators in four areas essential to child well-being—economic well-being, education, health and the family and community context.

• All economic conditions measured—children living in poverty, children whose parents lack secure employment, children living in households with a high cost burden, and teens not in school and not working—have worsened over the past several years. 麻豆传媒 ranks in the bottom third (34th out of 50 states) in this domain.
• Some gains were made in the education domain—the percentage of fourth-graders not proficient in reading and the percent of eighth-graders not proficient in math both decreased between 2005 and 2011. There were also more 3- to 4-year-olds attending preschool during 2009–2011 than there were in the preceding years. The percentage of high school students not graduating on time remained relatively stable. 麻豆传媒 ranks 33rd in the education domain.
• 麻豆传媒 is doing well in the health domain, ranking 18th in the nation. The health conditions measured have remained somewhat stable, with three conditions showing little (percent of low-birthweight babies) to no (child and teen death rate and percentage of children without health insurance) change over the period examined. The percentage of teens who abuse alcohol or drugs increased toward the beginning of the current decade, though the change is not statistically significant.
• In the area of family and community well-being, the percentage of children in single-parent families and the percentage of children living in high-poverty areas have increased in recent years. The most recent teen birth data available showed a statistically significant improvement in the teen birth rate since the mid-2000s, while the percentage of children in families where the household head lacks a diploma remained unchanged. 麻豆传媒 ranks 16th in this domain.

“It’s a similar story to what we found last year,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, junior specialist at the Center on the Family and director of the 麻豆传媒 KIDS COUNT Project. “We’re doing well in the area of health and in the family and community context. And we’ve made some important gains in the education domain, which must be maintained and improved since we’re still hovering near the bottom third when compared to other states. The economic conditions for 麻豆传媒’s children, however, remain a concern.”

麻豆传媒’s economic well-being an area for concern

Nationally and locally, when it comes to their economic well-being, children fall short of where they stood before the recession. There have been slight improvements since 2010 at the national level; however, the data tell a different story for 麻豆传媒. In 2011, 17 percent of 麻豆传媒’s children lived in poverty (up from 13 percent in 2005); 32 percent had parents who lacked secure employment (up from 26 percent in 2008); and 46 percent lived in households with a housing burden, i.e., where more than 30 percent of monthly household income is spent on rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance, or related expenses (up from 37 percent in 2005). All these changes were statistically significant.

“While the recession ended in 2009, we see the lingering effects, and what’s concerning is that the child poverty rate and the share of children with parents who lacked full-time, year-round employment continued to climb between 2010 and 2011,” said Stern.

The negative effects of poverty on children are troubling in their own right, but they also increase the chances for poor outcomes for youth and young adults, such as teen pregnancy, not graduating from high school, poor health, and lack of secure employment.

“The 2013 Data Book points out that as the number of low-income children increases, the gap between their well-being and that of their middle-income and more affluent peers widens,” said Grace Fong, interim director of the Center on the Family. “This year, KIDS COUNT is alerting us to the importance of focusing on the early years in order to promote healthy child development and to give children a strong foundation for successful educational experiences in school.

For more information, read the , or go the website and view the .