Studies rank KY low for child well-being. Here’s what an expert says could be improved
Kentucky recently ranked 10th in the U.S. for states with the highest volume of “underprivileged children,” and economic insecurity and child maltreatment rates may play a key role.
The Bluegrass State came 10th in WalletHub’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children, as the finance site found the commonwealth scored below average on metrics relating to children’s socio-economic and health conditions.
The Aug. 10 ranking evaluated all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 27 metrics related to children’s education, health indicators and financial stability. WalletHub cited data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Administration for Children and Families and other organizations.
Kentucky had the fourth highest percentage of maltreated children in the country and the seventh worst health conditions, according to the results. The commonwealth had the fourth worst socio-economic conditions, in part due to its share of children in foster care and portion of children in single-parent families.
There were some areas where Kentucky pulled ahead of national averages, however. The commonwealth has a public high school graduation rate of 90.6% and a graduation rate of 87.8% for economically disadvantaged students, earning 47th and 51st rankings respectively.
Here’s how the commonwealth compared to the rest of the country on children’s welfare, per WalletHub:
Child well-being in Kentucky
The 2022 KIDS COUNT data report, produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, put Kentucky in the 37th spot in the country for overall child well-being.
The report evaluated the commonwealth on 16 metrics. Kentucky improved on 10 of the data points and saw conditions worsen in four areas compared to previous years. One metric stayed the same for the commonwealth, and previous data were not available for another.
While Kentucky improved on all four economic indicators, some health and education metrics declined from previous years.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, said he was glad to see the commonwealth improve in some areas, but that there’s still work to be done.
“The good news is that we as a state continue to improve when it comes to the level of childhood poverty, which is really important, really good news,” Brooks said. “The bad news is that we have almost a quarter of a million kids still living in poverty. Nobody can applaud that.”
While Kentucky has improved in several economic areas, the commonwealth still ranks low, and economic disadvantages can affect children’s access to educational opportunities, as well as health care, Brooks said.
Here’s how Kentucky’s KIDS COUNT performance compared to previous surveys:
Children in poverty: 22% from 2016 to 2020, down from 26% from 2008 to 2012
Children whose parents lack secure employment: 31%, down from 36%
Children living in households with a high housing cost burden: 24%, down from 30%
Teens not in school and not working: 8%, down from 10%
Children ages 3 and 4 not in school: 59%, up from 56%
Fourth-graders not proficient in reading: 65%, up from 64%
Eighth-graders not proficient in math: 71%, down from 73%
High school students not graduating on time: 9% in 2018 to 2019 (Previous data are unavailable.)
Low birth-weight babies: 8.5%, down from 9%
Children without health insurance: 4%, down from 7%
Child and teen deaths per 100,000: 35, up from 32
Children and teens (ages 10 to 17) who are overweight or obese: 39%, up from 37%
Children in single-parent families: 35% from 2008 to 2012 and 2016 to 2020
Children in families where the “household head” lacks a high school diploma: 10%, down from 13%
Children living in high-poverty areas: 14%, down from 16%
Teen births per 1,000: 24, down from 46
Brooks said there are several bipartisan policy measures that would mitigate child poverty in Kentucky, including implementing a state-level earned income tax credit.
“The earned income tax credit, the EITC, has had a profound and positive impact on poverty,” Brooks said.
In addition to the EITC, a child tax credit would help alleviate financial stress on families, Brooks said. Child tax credits have already been implemented in eight states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Another beneficial financial reform would be enacting regulations on certain lending institutions, such as interest rate caps, Brooks said.
“Kentucky continues to be beset by a predatory financial climate, as exemplified or personified by payday lending institutions,” Brooks said.
One of the largest financial burdens on families with young children is often child care. The Center for American Progress estimates the average cost of base-quality infant day care is $14,300 per year in Kentucky. Brooks said making child care more accessible to families who earn typical incomes in Kentucky is one key factor in childhood well-being.
More on the WalletHub ranking
WalletHub ranked Kentucky 4th in the country for the share of children living in low-income households where no adults work, as 7% of youth fell into this category. The commonwealth had the 6th largest portion of children whose parents lack secure employment at 31%.
Here’s Kentucky’s child welfare results, using data from WalletHub:
Share of children in foster care: 0.86%, rank 11
Share of children in single-parent families: 33.53%, rank 18
Share of children living with grandparents and no parent in home: 3.04%, rank 3
Children in renter vs. owner households: 0.55, rank 23
Unaccompanied homeless children and youth rate: 15.48 per 100,000, rank 33
Share of children living in low-income households where no adults work: 7%, rank 4
Share of children under age 18 whose parents lack secure employment: 31%, rank 6
Share of children living in households with below-poverty income: 22.1%, rank 7
Change in the share of children living in households with below-poverty income: -1.3%, rank 40
Share of children living under 250% of the poverty line: 53%, rank 9
Economic mobility: 7.5%, rank 13
Percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated: 65.9%, rank 15
Share of maltreated children: 1.66%, rank 4
Share of adolescents 9th to 12th grade who felt sad or hopeless during the past year: 37.2%, rank 12
Child food-insecurity rate: 18.9%, rank 16
Infant mortality rate per 1,000 births: 6.33, rank 13
Child death rate: 20.69, rank 12
Share of children suffering from depression: 5%, rank 17
Share of uninsured children: 3.9%, rank 29
Share of poor children lacking all seven recommended vaccines: 40.7%, rank 14
Share of children with unaffordable medical bills: 10.1%, rank 24
Public high school graduation rate: 90.6%, rank 47
Public high school graduation rate among economically disadvantaged students: 87.8%, rank 51
Young children not enrolled in school: 60%, rank 6
State spending per child enrolled in preschool: $4,590, rank 26
Quality of public school system: rank 33
Share of teens neither attending school nor working: 8%, rank 8
WalletHub gave Kentucky an overall score of 54.6 on a 100-point scale. The highest score (representing the state with the most underprivileged children) was 63.97 given to Mississippi, and the lowest was 19.43 from New Jersey.
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