skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Ohio Shows Progress in Child Well-Being

play audio
Play

Tuesday, June 13, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Child advocates in Ohio say they are excited to see improvement in an annual snapshot of child well-being.

Released Tuesday, the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks the Buckeye State 24th in the nation, up from 26th last year.

Ashon McKenzie with the Children's Defense Fund Ohio says the state made gains in economic indicators, with fewer kids living in poverty and fewer parents lacking full-time employment. But, he notes, there is room for improvement.

"We still have nearly 400,000 kids who are living in high-poverty areas," he says. "That means they are vulnerable to crime, violence in their neighborhoods, likely that their schools are lacking resources and that many may be experiencing different forms of trauma."

The report notes that due to policies like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, fewer children overall live in poverty, more parents have jobs and more families are able to bear the cost of housing.

Another bright spot in the findings is that 96 percent of kids in Ohio now have healthcare coverage; nationally it's 95 percent, a historic high.

The Casey Foundation's Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and advocacy, contends it's a tremendous achievement that should not be jeopardized.

"The investments that we've made in things like the Affordable Care Act have made a difference," Speer says. "This is a time when policymakers are debating what to do with these programs, and having 95 percent of kids in America with health insurance coverage is a really good thing. And we need to maintain that investment for the long run."

Ohio dropped quite a bit in the area of education, ranking 27th compared to 17th last year.

McKenzie says better focus is needed on ensuring kids have access to high-quality pre-k programs, which are critical to future academic success.

"The Data Book highlights our need for broader and deeper investment in early childhood education," McKenzie adds. "We've lost ground over the last five years, our eighth graders are failing in math proficiency, which means truly, we're failing them. And we have been stagnant in the number of third- and fourth-graders who are accessing early childhood education."

The report also found 19 percent of Ohio high-school seniors are not graduating on time.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021