The “2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-being” is our site of the day

The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the California based Children Now have recently released the 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-being that provides national and state-by-state information and statistical trends on the conditions of America’s children and families.

This is a 200 page book, available online, that has a lot of meat. Taken together with newly released information from the KIDS COUNT data center, it illustrates that California continues its slide in the national ranking of Children’s well being-- failing to meet many of the education and health needs-- and is now 22nd out of the 50 states. In 2004, California ranked 15th of 50 states. The state's ranking was 19th last year.

On education, the report shows California lags nine percentage points behind the national average on fourth grade reading: the national average of fourth-graders who scored at or above proficient in reading is 32% as opposed to California's 23%. California students also fall nine percentage points below the national average on fourth-graders who are proficient in math: the national average is 39% compared to California's 30%.

In releasing the report, Ted Lempert, President of Children Now, said:

"California is well on its way to completely undermining its future by producing a next generation that can't support its human capital needs and increasingly overburdens public costs.

“California also continues to shortchange children's most basic health needs, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without access to basic health care and dental services. Governor Schwarzenegger's recently proposed state budget cuts only exacerbate these problems. Under the Governor's plan, education funding will be reduced by 8.8 percent and the number of uninsured children is expected to increase by 500,000, since the cuts will affect funding for several years.

"Our state's leaders have given a lot of lip service to the importance of our children, but have done nothing significant to support their critical needs in recent years, and it's showing. Their current under-investment of time and resources in children's education and health is simultaneously and substantially increasing California's future costs and decreasing its revenues, which means it's costing us all, regardless of moral stance.

“Overall, California's ranking of 22nd could be inflated due a high level of uncertainty regarding the state's high-school drop-out rate. Children Now, along with its partners in the Information Alliance for Education, is currently leading the effort to establish a comprehensive student data system. This system is needed to provide state policymakers and educators with accurate and complete information to inform decisions.”

Children Now is a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization “working to raise children's well-being to the top of the national policy agenda.” It focuses on ensuring quality health care, a solid education and a positive media environment for all children

This year’s KIDS COUNT Data Book essay, “A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform,” looks at the nearly 100,000 youth confined to juvenile facilities on any given night in the United States, and what can be done to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate detention and incarceration and increase opportunities for positive youth development and community safety. It is also worth a read by Californians concerned about our juvenile justice system.