The publishing of the Kids Count Data Book 2018 by the Anne E. Casey Foundation is important news for all states, but drives home important messages for those living in Kentucky.
The collection of information is compared to previous data to observe trends, improvements and areas of concern. The Casey Foundation has been publishing data in the form of the Kids Count since 1990, with almost three decades of information gathered.
Jessica Austin, Senior Epidemiologist with Green River District looks at data every day, including Kids Count.
“Looking at pertinent, reliable data helps determine areas where simple tactics could improve outcomes,” Austin said. “When this data book is published, I spend hours looking at the information and seeing how our district fares in comparison to the state.”
According to Austin, data like Kids Count helps with grant writing, which is often a source of revenue for the health department’s operations. It can also spur legislators to enact laws to improve the quality of life, Austin said.
So how did Kentucky fare? The answer is in the bottom 50 percent of the country. But upon deeper evaluation of the data, especially in comparison to previous years, Kentucky has made gradual progress.
The data measured in Kids Count focuses on four areas: economics/well-being, education, health and family & community. Furthermore, these four, broad areas are broken down with additional indicators totaling 17 different data points.
According to the study, Kentucky ranks 37th in overall child well-being. In economic well-being, the Commonwealth’s rank was even lower at 40. But Kentucky has made progress in the percent of children living in poverty with improved rates in 93 out of 120 counties. And yet, nearly one in four Kentucky kids still live in poverty. Children in Daviess County living in deep poverty, defined as below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, is at 13 percent, which is higher than previous years.
According to the study, the national average for the percentage of children living in poverty is 19 percent, equating to over 14 million children, with the highest rates being individuals of African American and American Indian races. The report goes on to say that growing up in poverty is one of the single most predictive factors for teens exhibiting risky behaviors.
In education, Kentucky ranks 29th, one of the state’s highest scores in the study. According to the data, the rate of high school students graduating on time has increased to 119 of 167 school districts in the Commonwealth. But that leaves 46 school districts that worsened. While 94.1 percent of Daviess County students graduate on time, only 56 percent of kindergartners are ready to learn, according to the study.
In its highest ranking category, Kentucky stands at 28 in the health category of the study. After decades of progress, Kentucky’s rate of insured children has reached an all-time high at 96.7 percent. All 120 counties have improved rates in children having health coverage. Daviess County has improved across all health subcategories, including teen birth rate, low birthweight babies and smoking during pregnancy.
Kentucky is one of the lowest ranked states at number 39 under family and community indicators. The rate of children in out-of-home care continues to rise in 92 counties, fueled by parents struggling with addiction. The number of Kentucky children being raised by relatives outside of the foster care system also continues to rise with a 75 percent increase between 2012- 2014 and 2016-2018. The rate of children in out-of-home care (per 1,000 children age 0 to 17) in Daviess County is 35.8 percent.
By organizing the data collected into these four parameters, the Casey Foundation hopes to allow individuals to collectively see where there are areas needing policy development, revenue streams, gaps in services, inadequacies in resources and successes.
For the Green River District Health Department, uses this data when working with a myriad of partners to develop a Community Health Assessment for the seven counties it services. From this assessment, a Community Health Improvement Plan – commonly referred to as CHIP – is established with the nuances of each county taken into consideration.
