Louisiana ranks next-to-last for childhood well-being in Annie E. Casey Foundation report

Louisiana ranked next to last for overall child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2023 Kids Count Data Book, with the state ranking near the bottom for economic well-being, health, and family and community.

The 2023 report put Louisiana at 49th out of all 50 states for overall child well-being, coming ahead of only New Mexico. Louisiana had ranked next-to-last in the 2022 report as well.

“Expanding access to child care is a uniquely win-win-win policy,” said Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Agenda for Children, Louisiana’s member of the KIDS COUNT network, in a release. “High-quality child care offers lifelong benefits to children, enables parents to work and improve their children’s economic security and strengthens our economy through increased workforce participation. Making child care affordable and accessible for all families will have huge rewards for all Louisianans.”

The report found that from 2020 through 2021, about 8% of Louisiana children age 5 and under lived in families in which someone quit, changed or refused a job due to child care issues. Early child care was a major topic during the recent legislative session, as advocates fought for increased state funding to offset nearly $200 million in expiring federal dollars.

Ultimately, the legislature dedicated about $44 million of the requested $52 million in state funds. Even with the extra funding, the state likely will lose more than 10,000 child care spots due to the expiring federal money.

“Too many families struggle to find affordable, quality child care, often preventing them from paying rent and buying life’s necessities, such as food, diapers and clothes,” said Courtney Rogers, director of Agenda for Children’s Judy Watts Center for Policy and Advocacy, in a release. “Without significant investments from both the state and federal governments, parents will be forced to make impossible choices, such as choosing lower-quality care because they don’t have funds to pay for quality care or even leaving the workforce altogether because they find it cheaper to stay home than pursue a career. Louisiana’s children and families are counting on our leaders to invest where it matters most and do all that they can to improve the state’s child care system.”

Louisiana worst in the nation for children’s economic well-being

Louisiana ranked last for economic well-being, which was the same as in 2022. After seeing some improvement in last year’s report, the state did worse in three of the four indicators. Close to 35% of children in Louisiana had parents who lacked secure employment in 2021, which was up from 33% in 2019 and higher than the national average of 29%.

About 30% of Louisiana children lived in households with a high housing cost in 2021, up from 29% in 2019 and matching the national average of 30%. About 11% of Louisiana teenagers were not in school and not working in 2021, rising from 9% in 2019 and above the national average of 7%.

The only economic indicator where Louisiana did not perform worse was for the percentage of children in poverty, which remained stagnant at 27%. The national average was 17%.

Louisiana sees significant growth in education ranking

One area where Louisiana saw improvement was in education, with the state’s ranking rising from 48th in 2022 to 43rd in the latest report. Louisiana improved in two of the four indicators.

About 72% of Louisiana’s fourth graders were not proficient in reading in 2022 – an improvement from 74% in 2019, but still above the national average of 68%. About 17% of Louisiana’s high school students did not graduate on time during the 2019-2020 school year, falling from 20% during the 2018-2019 school year. The national average was 14%.

But more than half of Louisiana children ages 3 and 4 were not in school from 2017 through 2021, with the percentage rising to 51% from 49% from 2012 through 2016. Still, Louisiana is slightly better than the national average of 54%. Louisiana also saw more eighth graders not proficient in math, with the percentage rising from 77% in 2019 to 81% in 2022. The national average was 74%.

Louisiana still ranked next-to-last for health

Louisiana worsened in three of the four indicators for health for the second consecutive year, the report shows.

About 11.3% of Louisiana babies had a low birth weight in 2021, up from 10.8% in 2019 and well above the national average of 8.5%. Louisiana’s death rate for children and teenagers also rose significantly, jumping from 36 per 100,000 in 2019 to 52 per 100,000 in 2021. The national average was 30 per 100,000.

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Close to 39% of Louisiana children and teenagers aged from 10 through 17 were overweight or obese in 2020-2021, up from 35% in 2018-2019 and above the national average of 33%. About 4% of Louisiana children did not have health insurance in 2021, which was the same as 2019 and better than the national average of 5%.

Louisiana ranks 49th for family and community

Louisiana stayed put at next-to-last for family and community, despite improving in all four indicators.

About 45% of Louisiana children lived in single-parent households in 2021, down from 47% in 2019 though still above the national average of 34%. About 11% of children lived in families where the head of household did not have a high school diploma in 2021, which was down from 12% in 2019 and matched the national average.

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About 19% of children in Louisiana lived in high-poverty areas from 2017 to 2021, down from 21% between 2012 and 2016 but more than double the national average of 8%. Louisiana had around 25 teenage births per 1,000 in 2021, down from 28 per 1,000 in 2019 but still well above the national average of 14 per 1,000.

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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana ranks next-to-last for childhood well-being