Access National KIDS COUNT Data Book here
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48th Again?
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Some of you may be disappointed to see that Alabama hasn’t improved in our national overall ranking on child well-being when compared to other states. However, rankings don’t tell the whole story. Rankings in this report are relative and while Alabama HAS been improving, other states have as well. Actually, according to studies by the Annie Casey Foundation and Duke University, Alabama has been improving in child well-being at a faster rate than the majority of states. We just began with a lot of ground to make up. It is now critical for Alabama to maintain the momentum we have established.
This is how Alabama’s children fared based on ten key indicators of child well-being presented in the 2011 National KIDS COUNT Data Book:
Key
Indicators |
Alabama
Rate |
State
Trend
|
State
Ranking |
U.S.
Rate |
National
Trend |
| Percent low-birthweight babies |
10.6 |
W |
48th |
8.2 |
W |
| Infant mortaility |
9.9 |
W |
49th |
6.8 |
I |
| Child death |
23 |
I |
40th |
19 |
I |
| Teen death |
93 |
W |
45th |
62 |
I |
| Teen birth |
53 |
I |
39th |
41 |
I |
| Percent of teens not in school and not high school graduates |
7 |
I |
29th |
6 |
I |
Percent of teens not attending
school and not working |
10 |
-- |
33rd |
9 |
-- |
Percent of children lviing in
families where no parent has
full-time year-round employment |
35 |
-- |
44th |
31 |
-- |
| Percent of children in poverty |
25 |
W |
46th |
20 |
W |
Percent of children in single
parent families |
39 |
W |
46th |
34 |
W |
Unemployment and foreclosure are two additional indicators addressed in this year’s Data Book and message, “America’s Children, America’s Challenge: Promoting Opportunity for the Next Generation.” Learn more here
Alabama National Comparison page
U. S. Overall Comparison page
2011 National KIDS COUNT Data Book
You can access the national KIDS COUNT Data Center here.
National KIDS COUNT Release Media Coverage:
A Marathon Alabama Must Win - Anniston Star - August 18, 2011
Editorial: Make children's lives better - Huntsville Times - August 18, 2011
Alabama ranks 48th for child health, well-being in Annie E. Casey Foundation 2011 Kids Count data - Birmingham News - August 17, 2011
Study ranks Ala. 48th in life quality for children - Connecticut Post - August 17, 2011
KIDS COUNT: Significant Decline in Children’s Economic Well Being Over Past Decade - Juvenile Justice Information Exchange - August 17, 2011
The 2011 Alabama Kids Count Data Book, a research publication measuring child well-being on twelve indicators for each of the 67 counties throughout Alabama, was released in September 2011. Check out how children in your county are doing here!