The 10 worst states for kids to grow up

[Bozita]

I'm shocked, shocked to tell you that red states dominate this list.



The 10 worst states for kids to grow up
Published: Sunday, January 29, 2012


NEW YORK -- Oh, children. When will they learn? Never, it turns out, if they happen to live in one of the states in the U.S. with a poor record of quality of life for kids. In the Foundation for Child Development's latest Child and Youth Well-Being Index, the group looked at 28 indicators (most focusing on children under 18 but some including young adults in their 20s) in seven categories to calculate its state-by-state index. The seven areas include family economic well-being, health, safe/risky behavior, educational attainment, community engagement, social relationships and emotional/spiritual well-being, which were given specific weights to calculate the index, on a scale of -1 to 1.

"This report shows that a strong relationship exists between children's well-being and state policies that drive investments in children," the report says. "The gap between public opinion and public investments in children remains large."

A child's well-being is strongly related to the state where he or she lives, the Foundation for Child Development says in a report.

The study's findings paint a wide spectrum of childhood well-being in the U.S., indicating that "a child's well-being is strongly related to the state where he or she lives."

Among the other key findings:

more...
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2012/01/29/news/doc4f25b23185867147918314.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[toddwv]

1. Not just red but DEEP red.

[hfojvt]

23. by which you mean deep SOUTH

the ten reddest states by victory margin in the 2008 election

Wy - 32.24
Ok - 31.29
Ut - 28.02
Id - 25.30
Al - 21.58
Ak - 21.54
Ark - 19.85
La - 18.63
Ky - 16.22
Tn - 15.06
Ne - 14.93
Ks - 14.92

Okay, that is 12, but notice that 3 of the 4 deepest red states are not on the list of 10 worst states for kids. Arizona's victory margin for McCain was only 8.48, and neighboring New Mexico and Nevada both went for Obama by over 10%. Yes, the worst state for kids is a blue state. Arkansas by the way only went for Bush by 9.76 in 2004. It became deep red in 2008 because of what Obama did to Hillary, their native daughter, as it were, in the primary.

The deepest red states in 2004

Utah - 45.54
Wy - 39.79
Id - 38.12
Ne - 33.22
Ok - 31.14
ND - 27.36
Al - 25.62
Ak - 25.55
Ks - 25.38
Tx - 22.86
SD - 21.47
Mt - 20.50
Ky - 19.86
Ms - 19.69

Again, the four deepest red states are not on the list of ten worst for kids. I would also note that the West is deeper red than the south. Some of that may come from the triage. Kerry, having limited resources in a close race, did not bother to campaign in places like ND or Ne or Ks or Ok or SD. The Obama campaign, having more copious resources in 2008, put some effort into those states. It did not really pay off, except in lowering the margin of victory, but Obama won a number of traditionally red states like Nevada, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana. In a perhaps closer race, it may once again make sense to write off ND and Ks instead of wasting limited resources chasing after 9 electoral votes you are not gonna win anyway.

[seabeyond]

2. no surprise. all the lists tend to pick these states. a list....

10th-worst state for kids: Kentucky (tie)
10th-worst state for kids: Alaska (tie)
Eighth-worst state for kids: Oklahoma
Seventh-worst state for kids: Alabama
Sixth-worst state for kids: Arizona
Fifth-worst state for kids: Nevada
Fourth-worst state for kids: Arkansas
Third-worst state for kids: Louisiana
Second-worst State for Kids: Mississippi
The worst state for kids: New Mexico

[get the red out]

3. Hey, Kentucky made the top 10

We just about always make the top ten in all things miserable and basketball.

Thank God for basketball.

[seabeyond]

4. ha ha. that was my point. years, the list show the same states top ten in

all things miserable. but you have basketball.

[Kablooie]

5. Florida's not on the list.

But of course they have Disney World so how could it be a bad state for kids?

[PatentlyDemocratic]

16. Florida's education system seems worse than Alabama's

I lived more than a decade in each state. I went to school in Alabama, and I noticed a significant step down when I arrived in Florida. The school days are ridiculously short, the schools are underfunded, and the curriculum is centered around the FCAT.

Obviously it depends on where you go to school, but I received a good education from Alabama public schools. The problems that I observed were mostly from a lack of good parenting, although I suppose that is true everywhere.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

6. South Carolina and Georgia not on this list? They rank last in education.

[dawg]

8. Georgia and South Carolina did not make the list because ...

the authors concluded that our stunning good looks made up for any possible shortfalls in education and culture.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

9. There you go! I'm originally from Georgia and I fully concur!!

[Alcibiades]

17. I thought that about South Carolina, too

I assume they are #11. Georgia's not nearly so bad as it once was, as YGA achieved national recognition as the #1 party school a couple of years ago.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

20. UGA has always been known as one of the nation's top party schools, as opposed

to Emory (my alma mater) or Georgia Tech. It's getting better now, but it's difficult to shake that reputation.

[zbdent]

7. inebriation, decay, destitution, poverty, paralysis, ...

oh, wait ... states as in divisions of the U.S. ?

[Kurmudgeon]

10. Glad to see West Virginia escaped the list.

They used to be and often still are members of the "worst states" list gang.
I think what has happened is the interstates built over the last several decades have opened up the state to both better access and people from outside.
West Virginia is much more cosmopolitan than it used to be, though it still has a long way to go.

[Major Hogwash]

11. Kentucky may be tied for dead last . . .

. . but they can't see Russia from their house!!

Boo-yah!!

[Art_from_Ark]

12. As someone who grew up in Arkansas

and whose nieces and nephews all grew up in Arkansas, I find it very hard to believe that the whole state is the 4th worst in the nation for kids. Maybe the situation is different in other parts of the state, but my area (Northwest) is not bad at all for kids. And I can certainly think of a lot of places in the US that are not on that list where I would never want to try to raise kids.

[provis99]

13. I'm surprised Mississippi is only 2nd worst.

Things must be improving there.

[NYC_SKP]

14. NM MS LA AR NV AZ AL OK AK KY... Hmm, all the states with the letter "K":

And six others...

[Chico Man]

15. Lots of Native American reservations in these states

I've spent some time in the Navajo country of northern AZ and NM, this is not a surprise.

[dipsydoodle]

18. Another joint #1 : In a Republican state of mind.

.

[BlueIris]

19. Depressing. How awful for our children.

Sick as hell that there is any place in this country where children are so neglected, let alone many.

[DonCoquixote]

21. Florida did NOT make this list?

I iknow the powers that be hate education and children. If ten states managed to be worse then Florida, then these places have to be hellholes!

[xocet]

22. The entire listing....

Here is a link to the report, Investing in Public Programs Matters: How State Policies Impact Children’s Lives, 2012 STATE Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI), that lists the rankings of all of the states:

http://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/STATE%20CWI%20Report.pdf .

Please see Table 2: State Rankings on Overall Child Well-Being 2007 on pages 6 and 7 for the top ten states:

Rank* State Index Value
1 New Jersey 0.85
2 Massachusetts 0.84
3 New Hampshire 0.77
4 Utah 0.75
5 Connecticut 0.74
6 Minnesota 0.73
7 Iowa 0.59
8 North Dakota 0.56
9 Maryland 0.53
10 New York 0.46

One should note that the 2012 report is based on 2007 data as is mentioned on page 2 of the report:

This study presents results for 2007, because this is the most recent year for which data are available from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), the only state-level source for several key indicators of child well-being. The relationships linking state tax rates, policies and CWI values, which have been calculated and presented for the first time in this report, are consistent with earlier studies involving more specific analyses and are likely to be quite stable from year to year.

This report was funded by the Foundation for Child Development and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.