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The number of children living in poverty has swelled over the past three decades in fast-growing, ethnically diverse states such as Texas, Arizona and Nevada as the nation's population center shifts south and west, a report Monday on childhood well-being shows. The annual Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that 18% of the nation's children live in poverty, down from the Great Recession. (6/17)

Looking at the well-being of Illinois’ children through a racial lens … shows big disparities, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual KIDS count report. Racial disparities show up on measures of health, educational achievement, and economic well-being. (McKinney, 6/17)

The 2019 Kids Count Data Book published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation used 2017 data to examine 16 areas of childhood well-being grouped into four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Compared with other states, Texas ranked 39th in economic well-being, 30th in education, 39th in health, and 47th in family and community, for an overall ranking of 41st. (Zdun, 6/17)

California’s efforts to improve health care for children is being dimmed by high rents and housing prices, poorly performing schools, expensive child care and a host of other challenges, according to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.In many ways, the report reflects a familiar story for the state: Prosperity is unevenly divided, the education system is inadequate and families are worse off because of the shortcomings in public programs. (Finch II, 6/17)

New York State children are much more likely to have health insurance and less likely to die young than kids in other states, but high housing costs are impacting their economic well-being, according to a national study released Monday. The 30th annual “Kids Count” report from the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation also found that preschool is more common for 3- and 4-year-old New Yorkers than children elsewhere, and that teenage pregnancy is less prevalent. (Olson, 6/17)

Colorado is among the wealthiest, healthiest states in the nation but has a higher teen and child death rate than the national average, a rate that has grown worse over the past two decades. The reason is suicide, which reached an all-time high in 2017 and is the leading cause of death for Coloradans ages 10-24. (Brown, 6/17)

New Jersey’s quality schools and its access to health care help make it the fifth-best place to raise a child, according to the annual look at family well-being in America. For 30 years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has published Kids Count, a compilation of data measuring health, wealth and stability, to draw attention to the needs of struggling kids and families. The goal is to influence politicians and policy makers who can make the changes that could improve thousands of lives. (Livio, 6/17)

Oklahoma ranks in the bottom 10 states in the nation for the overall well-being of its children, according to new data released Monday. The 2019 Kids Count Data Book ranks Oklahoma 42nd using census data from each state during 2017. The count was put together by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, with Oklahoma-specific data and distribution help from the Oklahoma Policy Institute.The report focuses on 16 various indicators within economic well-being, education, health outcomes and family and community connections. (Branch, 6/17)

The Annie E. Casey Foundation conducts an annual study called the Kids Count Data Book, meant to outline the needs of children across the country. The study ranks each state in four categories: Economic well-being, education, family and community, and health."We're definitely making improvements," Executive Director for the Children's Advocacy Alliance (CAA). (6/17)

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2019 Kids Count Data Book ranked the state 29th overall in its measure of how kids are doing in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Tami Silverman, president and CEO at the Indiana Youth Institute, said one bright spot is improved financial security. "We were happy to see that fewer Hoosier children are living in poverty than they had been, and to us that means that families are benefiting from the economic recovery," Silverman said. "It's taken a little bit more time, but the number of children living in poverty has decreased since 2010 by four percentage points." (Kuhlman, 6/17)

The well-being of Florida’s children has slipped in the latest national ranking, with a rise in the number of low birth-weight babies, more child and teen deaths and more teens abusing alcohol or drugs. And while the number of Florida children covered by health insurance had increased from 2010 to 2016, that trend started to reverse in 2017, when 68,000 more children were uninsured compared to a year earlier. (Santich, 6/17)

The share of children in Pennsylvania living in high-poverty neighborhoods has been steadily growing, according to new data released Monday by The Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of its annual “Kids Count” state-by-state review. Overall, the report ranked the state 17th in child well-being by various measures of poverty, health, education and family and community metrics. (Giammarise, 6/17)

While West Virginia’s children are faring better in two categories this year — health, and family and community — the state’s overall ranking of child well-being dropped this year, from 40th last year to 43rd, according to the 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book, released Monday. The national data book, released by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, uses 16 factors spread across health, family and community, economics and education to determine the well-being of children in each state. (Coyne, 6/17)