Welfare Watch - July 29, 2009 - 2009 Kids Count Data Book Released

The Annie E. Casey Foundation and Georgia's Family Connection Partnership have released the 20th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book.  This important survey of data profiles the well-being of America's children on a state-by-state basis and ranks the states on 10 measures of well-being.  Casey, riding the crest of the wave (maybe even creating the wave), is calling for a "data revolution" that uses data to track our progress in improving the lives of vulnerable children.  Some believe that KIDS COUNT has done more to focus the national's and states' attention of child well-being than any other activity.  They quote the old adage, "What gets measured gets done," and "what gets measured and fed back gets done well."  Accountability, evidence based programming, and outcome based accounting is more important than ever for the children that depend on us for their well-being.

KIDS COUNT certainly has in the last twenty years made Georgia face up to its deficiencies in its care of its most vulnerable children.  Georgia has struggled to get out of the bottom 10 of all states since this data has been collected.  Georgia ranks 42nd in the total of all indicators.  In the last eight years, Georgia has done no better than 39th and no worse than 44th.  Along with other southern states and parts of the southwest, Georgia moves along with the bottom 10 states.  Our high high school dropout rate, single parent families, and low birth weight babies keep us from moving out of this dubious category. 

Georgia's ranking on each indicator:

• Percent low-birth weight babies - 44th
• Infant mortality rate - 42nd
• Child death rate - 26th
• Teen death rate - 28th
• Teen birth rate 39th
• Percent of teen who are high school dropouts - 46th
• Percent of teen not attending school and not working - 44th
• Percent of children living in families where no parent has a full-time, year-round employment - 26th
• Percent of children in poverty - 37th
• Percent of children in single parent families - 43rd

The full report can be found here:  KIDS COUNT

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Welfare Watch, an email newsletter of the
Georgia Association of Homes
and Services for Children
as a public service.
http://www.gahsc.org
                            Normer Adams, Editor
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