Contacts: Valerie J. Salley

502-895-8167

Debra Miller

502-875-4865

MEDIA RELEASE

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, June 20, 12:01 AM

Kentucky ranks 40^th among states in national child

well-being report as thousands of children

are found to live in families lacking vital

connections to improve their lives.

(June 20, 2000, Frankfort and Louisville, KY): More than one in four (26 percent) of Kentucky’s children live in poverty, ranking Kentucky 44^th among the states and Washington D.C. on this measure. According to The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s tenth annual KIDS COUNT Report, these are the children whose families are isolated in communities that lack empowerment opportunities such as job training and networking, access and transportation to good jobs, and social networks that provide needed support for neighborhood improvement. Without making connections, these families, and especially their children, are missing out on what most are experiencing as a booming economy with a significant increase in their quality of life.

Disappointing data include the rise in Kentucky’s child death rate. Kentucky is one of seven states to witness an increase in the number of deaths per 100,000 children ages 1-14, 30 deaths per 100,000 children compared to the national rate of 25. Kentucky also has a high rate of teens who are not attending school and not working, ranking 46^th in the nation on this measure. Measures on which Kentucky has improved since 1990 include the infant mortality rate, rate of teen deaths, the teen birth rate, and the percent of teens who are high school dropouts.

For Kentucky, the report found that one in five children under age 13 lives in a low-income family with working parents. For children under age 6, two-thirds are living in “working poor” families. Nationally, the number of kids in “working poor” families has increased by nearly one-third since 1990. “Many Kentucky families are working full-time and still have to choose which bills to pay; housing or utilities, child care or health care, food or transportation,” said Debra Miller, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “Parents’ paychecks are falling short. It’s that simple.” Because dealing with repeated crises becomes a way of life for working families facing low pay and no assets to fall back on, parents need supportive networks. “We’d like to think that if parents are working, their children are not in poverty. That is not the reality.” Miller added.

The report also found that family income is only one indicator that measures the plight of families. “If your neighborhood doesn’t foster opportunities for families, it isn’t providing your children with what they need to be healthy and happy,” stated Valerie Salley, KIDS COUNT Coordinator with Kentucky Youth Advocates.

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The Casey Foundation is committed to supporting connections for low-income families. Through its “Making Connections” Initiative, it is working with 22 cities nationwide, including Louisville, to help local communities build opportunities, tools, and relationships that support strong families. “We have to look at neighborhoods and ask the right questions. Do these children have safe places to learn or play? Can they walk down their streets or in their communities and see thriving businesses and positive adult role models? stated Salley. “We can’t move toward solutions if we’re not asking the right questions.”

As is its tradition, the National KIDS COUNT Data Book presents a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of the well-being of America’s children. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children and families in the United States. The Casey Foundation also supports a national network of state organizations who produce county-by-county data on the well-being of children. Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Kentucky KIDS COUNT Consortium participate in this effort to produce Kentucky’s county-by-county child well-being data each year.

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