s ear y 25
hild’s VIEW
SUMMER 2012 Vol. 24, NO. 3
A newsletter for friends of Voices for Children in Nebraska
KIDS COUNT National Data Book By Melissa Breazile
Nebraska once again stacked up well nationally in overall child wellbeing, earning a ninth-place ranking for the third year in a row, according to The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The high ranking did not reflect losses Nebraska children have experienced in previous years, however. The report noted improvements in five indicators but worsening in nine, including economic conditions. Two indicators remained stagnant. “This year’s findings show that Nebraska kids continue to struggle with poverty, just as their parents are finding less-secure employment and dealing with high housing costs,” said Carolyn Rooker, executive director of Voices for Children in Nebraska. “We know that economic challenges in early childhood can have a big impact on success later in life.” In a departure from previous KIDS COUNT Data Books, this year’s report subdivided its rankings into four domains: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. Each state then received a ranking in each, with Nebraska’s results as follows: • Economic Well-Being: 2nd • Education: 15th • Health: 12th
• Family and Community: 15th
Despite a second-place ranking in Economic Well-Being, Nebraska experienced increases in child poverty, children with parents who lack secure employment, and children living in households with a high housing cost burden. The Family and Community domain, in which Nebraska ranked 15th, also contained increases in three areas: more children living in single-parent families, children living in high-poverty areas, and teen birth rate. The Education domain was split. There were improvements in children attending preschool and in fourth-grade reading proficiency, but worsening in eighth-grade math proficiency and in on-time graduation. Three out of four indicators in the Health domain, by contrast, showed improvements. There were fewer children without health insurance, a decrease in the child death rate, and fewer teens who abuse alcohol or drugs. The risk factors highlighted in the Data Book suggest that today’s children will have a difficult time
finding success later in life – affecting our country’s very ability to compete on a global scale, according to Patrick McCarthy, who wrote the book’s forward. “We are all responsible for finding solutions to the challenges we face,” McCarthy said. For complete details on Nebraska children’s well-being, please visit the KIDS COUNT Data Center at datacenter.kids count.org/NE.