TN kids are healthiest in South,
according to Kids Count ranking (TN/Gonzalez)
Despite gains, Tennessee lingered among
the bottom 10 states for education Kids in Tennessee rank as the healthiest in
the South — to the surprise of even some state officials — in the latest
state-by-state comparison of the well-being of children.
The 2012 Kids Count
Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows fewer teens
abusing alcohol and drugs, fewer kids living without health insurance and fewer
babies being born at low birth weights in the Volunteer State. Those measures
placed Tennessee 16th in the nation in children’s health, one place ahead of
Virginia and far above other southern states. Measures the state has struggled
with in past Kids Count studies, including childhood obesity, infant mortality
and access to dental care, were not considered.
Going beyond health, the
foundation considered 16 total factors, and ranked the state at 36th overall for
child well-being, the state’s best placement to date and an improvement on last
year’s 39th-place ranking. But the news wasn’t all good. The study found
economic hardship still rising, with one of four Tennessee kids now living in
poverty. And Tennessee lingered among the bottom 10 states for education.
Three-fourths of fourth graders fail to read proficiently, a decline that goes
against a national trend of improvement.
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