Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, July 22, 2015
(UNDATED) - The Anne E. Casey Foundation’s 2015 KIDS COUNT Data Book reported that a high percentage of Indiana children are living in poverty and in high-poverty areas.
But the findings include some positives including fewer teen moms, improvements in education and fewer low-birthweight babies.
According to the report one in five children in the state lives in poverty and 12 percent live in high poverty areas.
"Wages in Indiana have not kept pace with the rest of the nation so even people who have gotten back into the workforce after the recession are maybe not earning as much as they did before the recession so it makes it challenging for them to provide adequately for their children," Glenn Augustine, with the Indiana Youth Institute says.
The report looks at four specific categories: family and community, education health and economic well-being.
Overall Indiana dropped five spots from last year, now ranking 32 nationally. But Augustine says it's important to not get too caught up in the numbers because Indiana's decline is partly attributed to gains in other states.
One brighter spot in the report is a higher education rating, a drop in number of low birthweight babies and fewer children without health insurance.
"There are good things happening in the state of Indiana," he added. "We know people are working on these issues. Not all of Indiana's children are thriving and we need to look for ways to get those children served by either the public or private sectors that can help them get a better chance in life."
Indiana now ranks 25 for education - its best ranking to date. The state also is seeing improvements in math performance of all students and a shrinking gap in performance between white and hispanic students.
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