[Kids Count Report] More children in U.S. living in poverty

from Monsters and Critics

U.S. children are poorer and less healthy now than in the 1990s, a child advocacy group says.

The 17th-annual KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows that three out of 10 child 'well-being indicators' have worsened since 2000.

There were more than 13 million children living in poverty in 2004 -- an increase of 1 million over four years. There was also an increase in the percentage of low birth-weight babies between 2000 and 2003 and an increase in the number of children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment.

William O`Hare, senior fellow at the Casey Foundation and author of the 2006 report, said the good news is that the child death rate and the teen death rate have fallen; the teen birth rate has continued to go down, and the high school dropout rate has improved.

New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut ranked highest in well-being, while New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi ranked the lowest.

The report said strengthening early childhood development can help to assure that all children begin life on a level playing field.