[Kids Count Report] More Illinois children living in poverty

from WQAD

The rate of children living in poverty and in homes where neither parent has a full-time job has climbed in Illinois, but the state improved in other measures.
That's according to an annual study of how U-S children are faring called Kids Count, which is funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Illinois ranked 24th among the 50 states in the Kids Count report, while New Hampshire ranked best in the nation, and Mississippi ranked worst.

Illinois did better than the national average at keeping students in school, with six percent of Illinois teens reported as high school dropouts in 2004 compared with eight percent nationwide.

The state's teen birth rate in 2003 also was better than the national average.

But in Illinois, 17 percent of children lived in poverty in 2004 compared with 15 percent in 2000.