By ANNA BARRETT, Alabama Daily News
Alabama improved its overall national ranking on child well-being, despite regressing on eight of the 16 indicators including the numbers of children in poverty and those graduating from high school on time, according to a new report.
Alabama ranked 45th in overall child’s well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2023 KIDS COUNT Data Book released on Wednesday. This is an improvement from 46th in 2022.
Rhonda Mann, Voices for Alabama’s Children executive director, said the fact that Alabama worsened in the majority of indicators but still improved in its overall ranking speaks to what’s happening in other states..
“Overall, the well-being of children in Alabama stayed the same or worsened in 11 of the 16 indicators that the Casey Foundation tracks,” she said. “Still, this stands in contrast to what children in many other states have experienced over the last few years, especially as it relates to education outcomes. State leaders should be proud of what they implemented to mitigate COVID disruptions, but as this report suggests, we still have a lot of work left to do.”
The 16 indicators of child well-being in the annual report are related to education, health care, economic factors, and community and family. Data points come from 2012 through 2021.
Alabama improved in five of the indicators, four of which related to the family and community category, where the state ranks 45th, according to the data.
The report includes an interactive map that summarizes Alabama’s ranks and compares the state to others.
In a press release Wednesday, Voices highlights that Alabama students now rank 41st in the country in fourth-grade reading outcomes and 43rd in eighth-grade math. The state jumped six spots in both subjects.
But the report found that Alabama’s improved rankings were not likely caused by greatly increased test scores in Alabama, but by worsening scores in other states.
Alabama worsened or stayed the same in the other 11 categories. The biggest regressions were in teens that are not in school and not working, 10%, and children aged 10-17 that are obese or overweight, 37%.
Nationwide, New Hampshire led overall rankings while Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico fell at the end of the list.