Delaware has taken a slight step back in the latest national child well-being ranking.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2014 Kids Count index ranked the First State as 23 overall, one place back from last year’s survey.
Delaware took the biggest hit in economic indicators, with 17 percent of kids living in poverty according to 2012 figures. Children with parents without job security also rose.
Laura Speer, the foundation’s associate director for policy reform, noted that families who spent too much to put a roof over their heads has become a bigger issue.
“The relatively high housing cost is important because it means that there’s a higher bar for families to be able to really make ends meet," said Speer. "They need to have a job that’s going to pay them well enough to cover those expenses.”
Speer says those figures could drop in next year’s report, as Delaware’s labor statistics began to regain strength in 2013.
The First State’s education indicators improved over the past few years, but the index says 62 percent of 4th graders lack sufficient reading skills and 67 percent of eighth graders aren’t proficient in math.
And the state has significantly improved in the healthcare sector. Speer points out that Delaware leapfrogged 11 states in the past two years.
“The gains that have been made in health are impressive and I think it’s a testament to what can be done if there’s public will to change things around access to health insurance coverage and the percentage of low birth weight babies,” said Speer.
Nationally, the US nearly mirrored the First State’s movements in all four categories measured. Kids living in poverty jumped to nearly a quarter of all American children since 2005.
