skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, February 17, 2025

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

N.Y.C. Council speaker calls on Mayor Eric Adams to resign; KY could do more to protect kids from accidental drug ingestion, shootings; OH food banks face fed funding uncertainty, DeWine budget cuts; Protesters say Trump administration actions 'cast aside democracy.'

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

On a Middle East visit, Sen. Richard Blumenthal rejects a Gaza takeover. President's Day protests erupt around the country against White House moves, and another aviation accident draws attention to recent FAA cuts.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural America struggles with opioids and homelessness in unexpected ways, Colorado's Lariat Ditch could help spur local recreation, and book deliveries revive rural communities hit by Hurricane Helene.

Report: Alaska ranks near bottom in overall child well-being

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 13, 2024   

Alaska ranks 41st in the nation in terms of overall child well-being, according to the new 2024 Kids Count Data Bookfrom the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Researchers found in 2022, 14% of the state's children lived in poverty, and 32% lived in a home where the parents lacked secure employment.

Trevor Storrs, president and CEO of the Alaska Children's Trust, said state budgets have failed to prioritize children and families.

"The biggest issue has been over the past decade, we have been doing major cuts to services," Storrs pointed out. "Our overall investment in children and families has decreased in the past decade by 15%."

Storrs encouraged voters to keep children's needs top of mind when choosing candidates for local and state offices in this fall's election. The report also found Alaska's school children are falling behind, with 76% of fourth graders not proficient in reading, 77% of eighth graders not proficient in math, and 62% of 3- and 4-year-olds not in school.

Alaska has had long-standing trouble recruiting enough teachers, especially in remote rural towns.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said reading and math skills were low even before the pandemic, and they have regressed.

"We know both those skills are critically important not only to academic success but to make sure that young people are prepared for the workforce," Boissiere asserted.

Some high notes in the report included the number of child and teen deaths improved, going from 53 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 46, in 2022. The state also made gains in the percentage of teens not in school and not working, and on families facing a high housing cost burden.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Data from Penn Medicine finds as of January 2024, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. have received CAR T-cell therapy since it was approved for use in 2017. (Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Some New York doctors are working on new ways to treat advanced cancers. Chimeric Antigen Receptor, or CAR, T-cell therapy treats certain blood …


Health and Wellness

play sound

The incidence of drug overdose is decreasing in Indiana and one reason could be the efforts of an organization offering free training to anyone willin…

Social Issues

play sound

By Kim Kobersmith for The Daily Yonder.Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for South Carolina News Service for the Daily Yonder-Public News Service Coll…


More than 48% of Wyoming is public land, owned and managed by the federal government on behalf of U.S. residents. Several state bills this session were written to try to decrease the percentage. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Wyoming is one of several Western states where some lawmakers arguing states should have more control of the federally managed public lands within the…

Environment

play sound

By S.E. Smith for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the Yes! Magazine-Public News Service …

A home burns in a Los Angeles neighborhood during recent wind-driven wildfires spreading throughout several Southern California communities. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Amy McDermott for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for for California News Service reporting…

Social Issues

play sound

February is Library Lovers Month - and libraries across the Commonwealth are encouraging their long-time and new patrons to celebrate. Lisa Varga…

Social Issues

play sound

According to the Immigration Policy Tracking Project, the Trump administration has taken 130 actions on immigration so far this term. Groups in …

 

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