Louisville Courier-Journal

June 18, 2008

Shortchanging Kids

Editorial

Ask any parent what is most important to them and most will say their kids. After last week's floods, the TV was full of folks saying they lost everything but that was OK, because all that mattered was their families were safe.

Unfortunately, in Kentucky, a lot of children aren't safe. The annual Kids Count report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation tells us that 44 percent live in low-income households. And as Terry Brooks of Kentucky Youth Advocates says, economics are the leading indicator of how children will fare: "Health, education and safety stem from that."

The report shows that in 60 percent of the areas measured, Kentucky is doing worse than in previous years: in the number of low birthweight babies, for example; in the percentage of children with single parents; in death rates and in poverty rates. And in the areas where we're improving -- in high school dropout and teen birth rates, for instance -- we're improving more slowly than other states.

So what is Kentucky to do? Long-term, it's imperative to bring more good jobs to the state and continue to emphasize education.

But as Mr. Brooks points out, "We can't kid ourselves that we can solve problems without new revenue."

Unfortunately, Kentucky lawmakers took the opposite approach. The budget they just passed suggests things will get worse before they get better.

Decisions on cuts are still being made, but if there are fewer social workers, for example, and if there's less money for health departments, mental health centers and so on, next year's Kids Count won't say our kids are doing better.

There are obvious steps to take. For example, increasing tobacco taxes would cut the number of pregnant teens who smoke -- a significant problem. That would lead to fewer low-birthweight babies, who tend to have health and learning problems.

In Kentucky, we treasure our children, but right now 40 other states are indicating they treasure theirs more. We must do better.