Kids Count 2012 Report

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book shows while academic achievement and health are improving in Oklahoma, children's economic well-being continued to decline.

In a listing across all states the data book puts Oklahoma 40th in the nation.
The data shows Oklahoma children are doing better in school, with the exception of graduating on time, and 23% of children now have health insurance. However the teen birth rate is up 11 percent and 1 in 4 Oklahoma children live in poverty.
The book looks at statistics in a variety of areas that indicate the economic, health, family and community and educational well-being of children. The time period viewed in this year's report spans roughly 2005 to 2011, although comparisons for the percentage of children living in high-poverty areas look back as far as 2000. Individual states are ranked in comparison to one another.

"The most alarming part of this report is the number of children who live in poverty and grow up in high poverty areas," said Amber England from the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy.
England says this new data should be a call to action by Oklahoma elected officials, "There are families who are struggling in Oklahoma and we have to look for policies that will lift those families into the middle class."

England adds that these children are the next generation of workers and will soon be part of our growing economy, "If we look at these issues as economically development issues as an investment in our future then I think we are better serving the kids of today and Oklahoma for future generations."Kids Count 2012 Report

Posted: Wednesday, July 25 2012, 11:32 PM CDT