April  2008

Geography Matters: Child Well-being in the States

The Every Child Matters Education Fund reviewed child well-being disparities in the United States. The measures reviewed included infant mortality, births to teen mothers, the prevalence women giving birth with late or no prenatal care, the number of juveniles living in poverty, and the prevalence of juveniles in jail. They noted that many disparities are linked to state economics and state policies.

• Infant mortality ranged from a low of 4.5 deaths per 1,000 births in Montana and Vermont to the highest, 10.5 deaths in Louisiana - a 133% difference.

• Births to teen mothers ranged from the low of 18 births per 1,000 in New Hampshire to the high of 63 births, per 1,000 in Texas.

• Late or absent prenatal care occurred in 1.5% of births in Rhode Island and in 8.3% of births in New Mexico.

• The child poverty rate was lowest in Maryland and New Hampshire only 10% of the state's children live in poverty; in Mississippi and Louisiana, nearly 30% of children lived below the poverty line.

• The rate of juveniles in jails was lowest in Vermont, only 72.4 juveniles per 100,000 were incarcerated; in Wyoming, the number was 8 times that.

• Child welfare program funding was highest in Rhode Island at $180.32 per child; 12 times the per capita of $14.74 in South Carolina.