Indiana ranked 21st in child health in 2013, up 13 spots

New research and data shows Indiana children are growing up healthier, but the state still continues to struggle with high rates of child poverty.

Data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book, the premier source for data on child and family well-being in the United States, ranked Indiana 21st in child health for 2013, up 13 spots from last year. The rankings are for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The new ranking is strengthened by a 20-percent decrease in the rate of child and teens deaths from 2005 to 2010. The new ranking is also strengthened by a drop of four percent in the percentage of babies born at a low birthrate during the same years.

“This is great news for Indiana’s children,” Bill Stanczykiewicz, president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute, said in a press release.

One such indicator is child poverty, which Indiana still struggles with high rates.
Nearly one-fourth or 23 percent of Indiana’s children age 18 and younger live in poverty. While that figure reflects the national average, Indiana’s child poverty rate grew 35 percent from 2005 to 2011 compared to 21 percent the national average.

The KIDS COUNT Data Book ranked the economic well-being of Hoosier children 26th, down two spots from the 2012 data book.

Stanczykiewicz said in the press release that Indiana’s child poverty rate actually started growing before the Great Recession and that the economic downturn exacerbated the problem.

“That initial uptick in child poverty and the recession are proving history to be accurate in that even as economies recover, poverty lags behind the curve,” Stanczykiewicz said in the press release. “There is much we can do in our communities, congregations and youth organizations to encourage youth to prepare themselves academically for the current and future jobs in Indiana that pay high wages.”

Indiana’s overall rank for 2013 out of 50 states and Washington, D.C. improved to 30th from 31st in 2012. In addition to the health and economic well-being rankings, the KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks the state 34th in education and 30th in family and community.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book provides a detailed picture of how children across the nation are faring. It gives a comprehensive index to measure childhood well-being at the national and state level in four categories such as economic well-being, education, health, as well as family and community.

The Indiana Youth Institute contributes data to the book for each of Indiana’s 92 counties.

Monroe County’s percentage of children younger than  18 who are in poverty went from 17.9 percent in 2007 to 17.6 percent in 2011. The highest percentage from 2007 to 2011 was in 2008 with 18.9 percent.

“Hopefully the Casey Foundation’s Kids Count report helps to intensify state and local efforts to improve the lives of our children across all the indicators of child well-being,” Stanczykiewicz said in the press release.

­­­­ ­­– Samantha Felix