skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 23, 2024

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

Suspect held after woman set on fire in NY subway car dies; Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over 'ridiculous' fees; A year of growth for juvenile diversion programs in SD; The ups and downs of combating rural grocery deserts in ND; Report: AZ one of eight Western states that could improve conservation policies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers, and future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Report: State Helps WA Kids, with Room for Improvement

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 27, 2018   

SEATTLE – Washington state ranks 15th in the nation for children's well-being, according to an annual report released today.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book looks at how kids are doing in four categories: health, education, economic well-being, and family and community.

The state performed best in the health category, positioned at fifth overall.

According to Misha Werschkul, executive director of the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, that's in large part because of Washington Apple Health, which has helped drop the number of uninsured children to three percent. Still, Werschkul would like to see the state pick up the pace in other areas.

"Things are moving in the right direction, but they're not moving quickly enough and we're not where we need to be," said Werschkul. "And so, there's a real opportunity and imperative for our elected leaders to take action to continue the trend that we're headed on, of improvement."

The Evergreen State's lowest ranking is in education at 26th. Werschkul said the state needs to open up access to early-childhood education; 58 percent of Washington kids age 3 and 4 aren't in preschool, compared with the national average of 52 percent.

She noted, however, that the report data comes from 2016 and said the state has made some significant education investments since then.

The report also highlights the importance of an accurate count on the 2020 U.S. Census. Roughly 300 federal programs use census-derived data to allocate more than $800 billion a year.

The young-child under-count has gotten worse with every census since 1980, and was off by 1 million for this age group in 2010. Werschkul says one in six Washington kids is at risk of not being counted in the next census.

"And it's particularly kids of color, kids in rural areas, kids living on reservations that are going to be missed in the census, and that has real consequences for our state," she warned.

The Casey Foundation's Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and advocacy, says 2020 census outreach efforts face daunting challenges: a lack of leadership, the first-ever digital survey, and the potential of suppressed participation because of a citizenship question.

"There's still not a permanent director, and we know that that's important," Speer explained. "There's the need to fund state and local outreach for the census; and especially for the under-count of children, it's important to expand the pool of trusted messengers around the census."

The full report is online at aecf.org.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Federal Trade Commission reported older adults are less likely to report scams than those ages 18-59. Because the majority of fraud cases are not reported, the commission estimates national losses last year alone may be as high as $61.5 billion. (fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The holidays are the busiest time of the year for many people, including scammers. Oregonians lost $136 million to holiday shopping scams last year…


Environment

play sound

Across Pennsylvania and other northern U.S. states, climate change -- from burning oil, coal and methane gas -- is increasing the number of winter …

Social Issues

play sound

The Internal Revenue Service will be in the crosshairs in the second Trump administration, as the president-elect's recently announced choice to run …


Millions of families across the U.S. depend on home-based child care, with over 750,000 children enrolled in these programs, often because parents consider them more flexible than traditional child care centers. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama is part of a national program aimed at diversifying early childhood education. The Enriching Public Pre-K Through Inclusion of Family Child …

Social Issues

play sound

West Virginia schools' reliance on zero-tolerance policies are driving more kids into the juvenile justice system - with lifelong consequences…

Critics argue Florida's book removals limit access to important information. At the same time, state officials insist they ensure only age-appropriate materials remain in schools, rejecting claims of outright bans as a "hoax." (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent changes to Florida's education laws have removed information on consent, contraceptives and prenatal development from many health lessons at …

Health and Wellness

play sound

If you find yourself in a less than festive mood this holiday season, you are not alone. In Wisconsin, the recent school shooting tragedy in Madison …

Environment

play sound

By Jennifer Oldham for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public…

 

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