Study: Union County Ranked 12th in State in Child Well-Being

Union County was ranked 12th in the state of New Jersey when it comes to child well-being, according to a recent study.

Union County held steady at 12th in the “New Jersey Kids Count” report, after being ranked in the same spot in 2014. The report is an annual effort to track the relative “well-being” of children across the state.

The Advocates for Children of New Jersey, a nonprofit that works with elected officials to identify and work to enhance the welfare of children, conducted the study.

Union County improved in several categories, while taking a slight step back in some others. The county witnessed a positive decrease in child poverty, from 17 percent of children in-county in 2012 to 14 percent in 2013, the report said. This decrease moved Union County up to 11th place in the state, from 14th last year.

Additionally, the report said fewer households in Union County spent too much of their income on rent and the county saw a drop in unemployment.

Other trends in the report include:

• Union County took a slight step back in median family income, dropping from nearly $72,000 to around $70,600. Despite this decrease in median family income, the county moved up to 14th in the rankings, from 15th in 2014, after other counties saw steeper declines., the report said.
• A smaller number of county households spent more than the recommended 30 percent of income on rent. In 2012, 57 percent of households spent more than the recommended 30 percent of income on rent, dipping to 54 percent in 2013.
• Union County saw a small uptick in the percent of low-income students receiving breakfast at school. Thirty-seven percent of eligible students in 2013-2014 received breakfast at school, up from 36 percent in 2012-2013. The county, however, still fed less than the statewide average of 41 percent of eligible children and slipped from eighth place in this measure to 10th after other counties made sharper increases.

METHODOLOGY

The study analyzes data from several state agencies such as the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Department of Children and Families, Department of Community Affairs, Department of Education and Department of Health and Senior Services, in addition to federal agencies such as the U.S. Census and the IRS.

Ranking factors included: Child population, percentage of children in poverty, median income, percentage of women who receive prenatal care, teen births, infant mortality, child abuse investigations, juvenile arrests and educational statistics.

Here is the full report on Union County and the Advocates for Children of New Jersey’s methodology.