How Connecticut Ranks For Overall Child Well-Being

CONNECTICUT — Nearly 12 million children in Connecticut and other states were living in poverty before the pandemic. Their overall well-being has improved over the years, but the pandemic could potentially wipe out more than a decade of progress, a new report said.

Connecticut families with kids were among those that have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The foundation that works to improve child well-being across the United States is now calling on state governments to take "bold action" to help parents care for their children.

If they don't, nearly a decade of progress since the Great Recession could be erased, researchers concluded.

How Connecticut Fared

To determine the overall well-being of children in Connecticut, the foundation analyzed the latest federal data for 16 different indicators across four categories: economic well-being, education, health and family and community.

This year’s assessment was compiled using mostly pre-pandemic data, researchers said.

Connecticut ranked among the best for overall child well-being this year. Our state ranked #8 out of the 50 on this year's list.

Over the past decade, Connecticut has seen improvements in several measures analyzing education, health, and family and community well-being, but while economic indicators have improved in nearly every state, Connecticut has negatively diverged from national trends. Child poverty has increased over the past decade in the state, and there has been little change in parental employment, even as child poverty and parental employment have improved nationally since the Great Recession.

Between 2010 and 2019, there was an 8 percent increase in the percentage of children living in poverty in Connecticut, making Connecticut the only state to see an increase in the child poverty rate. National trends saw a 23 percent decrease in the percentage of children living in poverty. In 2019, 14 percent of Connecticut children lived in poverty, according to the report.

"A permanent federal child tax credit and the creation of a state child tax credit will be essential to help families recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic and address the concerning increase of Connecticut children living in poverty," said Emily Byrne, executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, Connecticut’s new member of the KIDS COUNT network and KIDS COUNT host.

On the positive side, between 2010 and 2019, there was a 20 percent decrease in the percentage of teens not in school and not working in Connecticut. Prior to the pandemic, the state did well at keeping teens engaged through either school or work. During this time, Connecticut's national ranking of teens not in school and not working rose from third to first (with the lowest percentage ranked first). From 2018 to 2019, the percentage of children whose parents lack secure employment dropped from 28 to 27, the percentage of children living in households with a high housing burden dropped from 43 to 34, and the number of teens not in school and not working dropped one point to 4 percent.

The children fared a little worse when it came to education from 2018-19. Although the percentage of young children (ages 3 and 4) not in school dropped from 38 to 34, the number of 4th graders still not reading increased 2 percent, to 60. The number of 8th graders not proficient in math also rose one percentage point, to 61 percent, but the number of high school students graduating on time improved by 5 points, to 12 percent.

"Connecticut excelled in connecting young children with school pre-pandemic, but with more than 20 percent of child care providers closing their doors for good due to the pandemic and a sharp decrease in the availability of preschool slots, we are poised to undo this good work educating and caring for our youngest residents," said Lauren Ruth, research and policy director with Connecticut Voices for Children.

There were fewer teens dying (a 1 percent drop) and slightly fewer (0.2 percent) low-birthweight babies born, but more heavyweight teens: The percentage of Connecticut children ages 10-17 who are overweight or obese increased 4 percentage points, to 29. The number of children without health insurance held steady, at just 3 percent.

There were way fewer Connecticut babies having babies — the number of teen births dropped 11 points, to 8 percent. Children living in high-poverty areas and those in families where the head of household lacks a high school diploma both dropped by 2 percentage points, to 7 and 8 percent, respectively. But the number of children in single-parent families crept up one point, to 33 percent, from 2018 to 2019.

Overall, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Vermont and Utah ranked the highest for child well-being.

Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi were in the bottom five.

What Can Be Done

Encouraging trends in child well-being have emerged over the past decade. Nationwide, improvements were made in 11 out of 16 indicators. More parents were economically secure and lived without a high housing cost burden, and more teens graduated from high school and delayed having children.

The pandemic is likely to disrupt that momentum, researchers said.