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Kids fare better in Kansas than in 37 other states, yet about 100,000 children live in poverty, and as a consequence, are not likely to have healthcare, educational opportunities and financial resources to give them a good start in life.
Stephanie Mulholland, director of communications for Kansas Action for Children, said figures released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, don’t tell the whole story. The 2010 Kids Count report relies on data gathered in 2007 and 2008, before the recession really took hold in Kansas.
The annual report is based on 10 measures of health, adequacy of income and educational attainment. A county-level report will be released in November.
“It’s a great tool for legislators and community leaders to assess how the state is doing so we can address the problems and celebrate the successes on behalf of Kansas kids,” Mullholland said.
Child and teen death rates in Kansas declined by 24 and 12 percent respectively. Mulholland credited a law passed a couple of years ago requiring children age 4 to 8 to ride in booster seats as a factor in decreasing automobile fatalities for children, noting that seat belts are made for adults and don’t adequately protect children. A positive impact is being seen from a law requiring teens to wear seatbelts and from the graduated driver’s license.
Automobile accidents accounted for 17 percent of child deaths in 2007, according to the report, and nearly half of children under 15 who died in auto accidents were not wearing a seatbelt or other restraint. For each injury-related death in 2007, there were 1,540 injury-related emergency room visits and 22 hospital admissions for children who survived the crashes.
Kansas appears to be following the national trend toward a reduction in the birth rate to teens.
Kansas ranks 40th in the nation in infant mortality rate, falling from 29th place in 2000.
The Kansas Legislature passed a policy to allow better collection of data in an attempt to discover reasons for an increase that Mullholland termed “pretty alarming.” Some assumptions can be made — mothers who don’t have health insurance are not getting adequate prenatal care and poor nutrition and smoking could be factors. Low-birthweight babies, which also increased by 3 percent in Kansas, are also a factor.
Kansas ranks in the top 10 in the nation for percent of teens not in school, percent of children in single-parent families and percent of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment.
Kids fare better in Kansas than in 37 other states, yet about 100,000 children live in poverty, and as a consequence, are not likely to have healthcare, educational opportunities and financial resources to give them a good start in life.
Stephanie Mulholland, director of communications for Kansas Action for Children, said figures released last week by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, don’t tell the whole story. The 2010 Kids Count report relies on data gathered in 2007 and 2008, before the recession really took hold in Kansas.
The annual report is based on 10 measures of health, adequacy of income and educational attainment. A county-level report will be released in November.
“It’s a great tool for legislators and community leaders to assess how the state is doing so we can address the problems and celebrate the successes on behalf of Kansas kids,” Mullholland said.
Child and teen death rates in Kansas declined by 24 and 12 percent respectively. Mulholland credited a law passed a couple of years ago requiring children age 4 to 8 to ride in booster seats as a factor in decreasing automobile fatalities for children, noting that seat belts are made for adults and don’t adequately protect children. A positive impact is being seen from a law requiring teens to wear seatbelts and from the graduated driver’s license.
Automobile accidents accounted for 17 percent of child deaths in 2007, according to the report, and nearly half of children under 15 who died in auto accidents were not wearing a seatbelt or other restraint. For each injury-related death in 2007, there were 1,540 injury-related emergency room visits and 22 hospital admissions for children who survived the crashes.
Kansas appears to be following the national trend toward a reduction in the birth rate to teens.
Kansas ranks 40th in the nation in infant mortality rate, falling from 29th place in 2000.
The Kansas Legislature passed a policy to allow better collection of data in an attempt to discover reasons for an increase that Mullholland termed “pretty alarming.” Some assumptions can be made — mothers who don’t have health insurance are not getting adequate prenatal care and poor nutrition and smoking could be factors. Low-birthweight babies, which also increased by 3 percent in Kansas, are also a factor.
Kansas ranks in the top 10 in the nation for percent of teens not in school, percent of children in single-parent families and percent of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment.
