KHI NEWS SERVICE
TOPEKA, July 25
Kansas dropped from 12th to 16th place in the annual
KIDS COUNT
survey of children”s well being.
The national ranking, done by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed that though infant mortality rates were falling nationally they were increasing in Kansas. So was the proportion of Kansas households where neither parent managed to hold a full-time job for a year.
The information was released today by the foundation”s Kansas partner in the survey, Kansas Action for Children, a Topeka-based advocacy group.
Though Kansas” overall position slipped from last year”s survey, the state this year ranked among the nation”s best on some measures, especially relating to teen well-being.
It had relatively fewer teenagers who dropped out of high school and fewer youngsters ages 16 to 19 who neither attended school nor worked. The proportion of high school dropouts relative to students who stayed in school went from 10 percent to 6 percent between 2000 and 2005
a 40 percent gain.
And 27 percent fewer Kansas teens died because of homicide, suicide or car crashes in 2004 than died in 2000. In 2004, 57 Kansas teens per 100,000 died of those causes, compared with 78 per 100,000 four years earlier.
“With the recent passage of legislation in Kansas requiring children 14 to 17 to wear seat belts regardless of their location in the vehicle,” said Gary Brunk, president of Kansas Action for Children, “we”re optimistic that this positive trend will continue in coming years.”
Kansas also ranked well for its relatively low percentage of single-parent households.
It was ahead of 42 other states on that measure.
The national KIDS COUNT report has been issued annually since 1990. The Kansas KIDS COUNT report, which provides county-level measures, was launched two years later.
Kansas KIDS COUNT was published by Kansas Action for Children in April.
This year”s national report showed infant mortality increasing from 6.8 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 7.2 in 2004.
Meanwhile, Kansas fell from 22nd to 29th in the nation.
“Despite solid performance on several indicators this year, the growing number of infants that don’t reach their first birthday in Kansas may be cause for concern,” Brunk said. “The trend is inching upward.
It”s something to pay close attention to in coming years.”