Pennsylvania is facing what children's advocacy groups call a historic child care crisis, leaving thousands of young children without access to early learning programs.

A new report estimates Pennsylvania loses $6.65 billion annually when families do not have child care and preschool options.

Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said the report examines the policies on child care and pre-K, and highlights workforce challenges affecting many families with young children.

"Both in terms of parents and families in the workforce, and the need for child care to be able for parents to work," King outlined. "We know in the report, just over 70% of families with children currently have both parents or caregivers in the workforce."

In his latest budget proposal, Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses some of the workforce challenges with a $17.7 million boost to early childhood education. $15 million is proposed for Pre-K Counts and $2.7 million for Head Start Supplemental Assistance, investments he said are crucial for working parents' economic stability.

King pointed out Pennsylvania child care workers earn just over $15 an hour, or less than many retail jobs, and half of pre-K programs are delivered through child care centers. But some centers struggle to attract and keep qualified staff.

King observed the wage gap leaves some centers with not enough revenue to pay competitive salaries and keep care affordable.

"That's where we've seen there's been quite an impact since the pandemic, with quite a few programs that have actually closed their doors," King noted. "Over 600 child care providers have been lost since right before the pandemic. So, I think you're seeing a lot of those businesses again in that untenable situation."

The report pointed out pre-K teachers in Pennsylvania earn annual salaries about half those of kindergarten teachers. One recommendation is to provide pay for pre-K teachers on a par with elementary school educators.

Utah still ranks as one of the best states for children's overall well-being, according to a new national report but advocates are stressing the need for more investments in positive youth engagement and education.

Utah ranked fourth in this year's Kids Count Data Book, which looked at 16 key indicators to holistically assess how children are doing.

Martín Muñoz, Kids Count director at Voices for Utah Children, said despite Utah's strong standing and promising trends, the state should not become complacent. He noted many families are still struggling and said uncertainty at the national level is being felt locally.

"We hear about it almost daily -- the housing crisis, the cost of living -- Utah is struggling," Muñoz observed. "One in four Utah children live in a household with a high housing cost burden in 2023."

Muñoz pointed out it means about 234,000 Utah households are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. He contended implementing what he called "trickle down economic" policies like the Child Tax Credit, which offers families up to $2,000 for every eligible child, could help. But as the budget reconciliation package makes its way through Congress, lawmakers could impose new regulations on who is eligible.

Some of the Beehive State's bright spots include seeing fewer children living in poverty as well as fewer children without health insurance. Muñoz emphasized investments made now to provide Utah families with economic opportunities and children with quality education and health care will pay off years down the road.

"We have resources that can provide and implement policies that do better for all kids and families," Muñoz asserted. "It is really being smart about our investments."

The annual report found education in Utah is still a glaring issue, as 64% of Utah fourth graders are not proficient in reading and 65% of eighth graders are not proficient in math.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said it is why states need to invest in areas like tutoring, while looking at effective curriculum strategies to turn the numbers around.

"Investing in thriving kids is essential to investing in communities, investing in our nation and investing in a strong economy 'cause today's kids are tomorrow's workforce," Boissiere stressed.

Tennessee ranks in the middle among states for the well-being of its children, at 37th overall in the new Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The annual report ranks states on the overall condition of children in four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and community and family.

Grace Baron, director of external relations for The Sycamore Institute, a nonpartisan public policy research center, said the data book show Tennessee students have made gains since the pandemic, particularly compared with students across the nation. She pointed out Tennessee has significantly improved reading and math proficiency.

"Tennessee's overall education ranking was 14th, which is the highest the state has ever achieved in rankings regarding fourth grade education and eighth grade math proficiency on national assessments, and Tennessee tied for the number two spot for on-time high school graduation," Baron outlined. "That means we're second out of all 50 states."

This year's report ranked Tennessee 35th in economic well-being. The state did see improvements in family and community, and the number of children living in high-poverty areas and children in single-parent families decreased.

Baron emphasized Tennessee's rankings slipped for several key health measures reaching a 14-year low. Tennessee is 41st place for child health, with mental health a key concern. She added recent data from her group showed Tennessee's youths are faring better in their mental health than a lot of other states.

"Tennessee had the sixth-lowest prevalence of depression and anxiety among youths in the country," Baron underscored. "Youth Mental Health is a growing concern as mental health indicators have been trending in the wrong direction for a while now, both in Tennessee and nationally."

Baron added Sycamore's work led to a new state law aimed at improving coordination among nine agencies overseeing children's mental health to boost outcomes for Tennessee kids.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said federal lawmakers are debating the future scope of safety net programs such as Medicaid and SNAP, with those decisions likely to affect state budgets. Boissiere stressed she hopes the unbiased data in this report gets a strong look ahead of any final moves.

"I think it's critically important that policymakers look at the data on food security in their community, that they look at the data on access to health care, that they look at what's been effective in driving child well-being," Boissiere urged.

Boissiere highlighted the importance of recognizing ongoing racial disparities in child well-being, noting Native American children fall below the national average on 15 of 16 indicators, while Black children lag on 8 of the 16 measures, with similar results for Latino children.

Vermont ranks high in overall child well-being, with fewer children living in poverty, according to a new report.

Released today, the 2025 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows 9% of children live in families below the federal poverty level, as more parents gain secure employment.

Sarah Teel, research director with Voices for Vermont's Children, credited state investments in education and health care and an expanded Child Tax Credit, which put more cash in parents' pockets.

"That approach has worked, and it has made a difference, and it is the reason why we've seen the positive outcomes we have," said Teel, "and so protecting that should be one of our top priorities."

Teel said expansion of Green Mountain Care and the Children's Health Insurance Program has helped ensure nearly all kids in Vermont have health insurance.

She said it's important that state lawmakers keep listening to families and stick with proven, research-backed policy choices.

Post-pandemic learning loss continues to plague educational outcomes in the state.

Nearly 70% of fourth graders lack proficiency in reading and more than 70% of eighth graders lack proficiency in math.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said prioritizing intervention strategies, to ensure more kids are in school and graduating on time, will ultimately help both families and the state's economy.

"With things like internships and apprenticeships, stronger - and in some cases - alternative education," said Boissiere, "so that they have an opportunity to thrive, and to move forward from education and into the workforce."

Federal lawmakers are considering significant cuts to public safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

Boissiere said she hopes they'll consider the data on food security, health care, and other indicators driving child well-being before making any moves.