Children’s health and education are showing positive signs even in the midst of a gloomy economic environment, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s latest ranking of child well-being.
The 23rd edition of the Baltimore-based foundation’s annual report—expanded this year to include a wider range of indicators—found education and health on the upswing. But gaps still exist between children of different racial groups and regions.
The percentage of children with health insurance increased 2 percentage points, to 92 percent, from 2008 to 2010, while child deaths dropped from 32 to 27 deaths per 100,000 children from 2005 to 2009.
Five percent more children—or 47 percent—attended preschool, and the percentage of 4th and 8th graders reading proficiently rose.
