State still low on child welfare report

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July 28, 2010

By RONNIE ELLIS CNHI The Glasgow Daily Times Wed Jul 28, 2010, 11:21 AM CDT

FRANKFORT — More Kentucky children are living in poverty according to the annual KIDS Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, although the state improved in some rankings. Overall, Kentucky ranked 40th out of 50 states in child well-being.

While there were improvements in infant mortality, child death, and teen death rates, Kentucky has fared worse since 2000 in low-birth weights, percent of children living in poverty and the percent of children in single-parent homes. The state ranks 43rd in child poverty and 45th in the percent of children whose parents lack secure employment.

But the economic data are key indicators for the future, said Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates which collaborates on the annual report.

“The economic well-being indicators are the Paul Revere data points,” Brooks said. “They tell us what’s coming. If those were better, I’d be confident the other data would improve, but instead it’s a warning that if we don’t take action, the other indicators are likely to fall.”

Conditions are probably worse already for Kentucky’s children than the data indicate because the data were gathered during 2007 and 2008 before the full brunt of the deep recession. Still, more than one in five of Kentucky’s children live below the poverty line and one in three live in homes where neither parent has a secure job — well above the national rate of 27 percent.

The number of low birth weight babies — those weighing fewer than 5.5 pounds — also rose. Brooks said the most common factor in such births is smoking by the pregnant mother and the state “really needs to work on educating women about the risks of smoking while pregnant.”

He said low birth weight data – like economic well-being indicators – are a harbinger of future woes. While there is reason for concern for the immediate health of such babies (which are 28 more times likely to die within the first year of life, Brooks said), the long-term ramifications should concern policy makers.

They are far less likely to graduate from high school and are more likely to suffer chronic health problems, according to Brooks.

But he also said the report shows those policy makers they can make a difference. Such measures as funding smoking cessation through Medicaid could decrease smoking among pregnant women and some measures taken in recent years by the legislature may already be showing results.

The report shows that teen death and child death rates have fallen in Kentucky, and Brooks points to laws requiring graduated driver licensing and booster seats for infants as contributing factors. He thinks the recently passed ban on cell phone use for those under 18 while driving and texting for all drivers will add further to those trends.

He says those successes should encourage lawmakers that realize “that if they action on key policies, improvements will follow. We don’t need to take cop-out actions because of the recession and just say we don’t have the money.”

Brooks wants to see Kentucky add an earned income tax credit for the working poor, based on the federal model and to find ways to help poor Kentuckians get federal benefits for which they are eligible but often don’t know how to access. He said last year around $330 million in federal benefits for eligible Kentuckians went unclaimed. Simplifying application procedures, improving coordination between agencies, and making sure people know about such benefits would help not only the recipients but the state’s economy.

“Low income people aren’t going to invest those dollars in off-shore accounts,” Brooks said. “They’re going to spend them and they’ll spend them on Main Street.”

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.

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