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KIDS COUNT Reveals More Kentucky Children in Poverty

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Aug 17th, 2011

KIDS COUNT Reveals More Kentucky Children in Poverty

 

The lingering effects of the Great Recession are taking a toll on Kentucky children, according to new data showing a wipeout of any earlier gains in fighting poverty.

 

The annual KIDS COUNT report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows the Bluegrass State still among the bottom 10 states for child well-being. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, says he draws more questions than answers from the state's overall ranking, in 41st place.

 

"Is Kentucky really a place that is content with being in the bottom 10 of the country, in terms of how our kids and families fare? Are we content to be a state where, for the first time, more than one out of four children live in poverty?"

 

With 26 percent of Kentucky children in poverty, the state slid five slots to 48th in the nation on that indicator. The annual KIDS COUNT report measures 10 indicators to gauge the physical, social, educational and economic standing of children.

 

Brooks sees some silver linings in the data: High school graduation rates are ticking up, and youth mortality is decreasing.

 

"The mortality rates, which just a couple of years ago had been on the increase, have actually fallen for infants, for children and for teenagers."

 

Brooks attributes that improvement, in part, to graduated driver's licensing for Kentucky teens, which he notes is a direct result of data-driven public policy. For overall economic well-being, Brooks says, the picture could be brighter if state lawmakers adopted a state-level earned income tax credit.

 

"That's a proven way that we can lift low-income families out of poverty. It puts real dollars into local marketplaces at the same time."

 

The KIDS COUNT report also says 122,000 Kentucky children have at least one unemployed parent. Only four states and the District of Columbia fare worse than Kentucky in that category.

 

The 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book is online at datacenter.kidscount.org.

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