WARWICK, R.I. (AP) - The lives of Rhode Island’s children are improving in some areas despite declines in others, particularly among racial and ethnic groups, according to an annual fact book released Monday by a children’s advocacy agency.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT presented the most recent data on the well-being of the state’s nearly 213,000 children at its annual breakfast, which was attended by state officials and community stakeholders. The fact book is a compilation of data on 71 different aspects of children’s lives, grouped into five categories including health and education.
Gov. Gina Raimondo said investing in programs that benefit children is not easy given the state’s economy, but “it’s the best investment we can make.”
There’s been an increase over the past few years in the number of children enrolled in early education programs, which KIDS COUNT executive director Elizabeth Burke Bryant said is a result of legislative support for investments in these areas.
Additionally, many of the indicators in the health category have seen improvements: The number of Rhode Islanders with delayed prenatal care continues to decline, as does the teen birth rate, from an average of 30.1 per 1,000 girls between 2005 and 2009 to an average of 21 per 1,000 girls between 2009 and 2013.
And Rhode Island ranks number one in the country for the lowest child death rate, meaning the state’s efforts toward prevention are working, Burke Bryant said.
“Rhode Island is doing very well compared to the rest of the country, and that’s because Rhode Island has prioritized comprehensive health insurance for children,” she said.
Nevertheless, there remain disparities in poverty and median family income among racial and ethnic groups: Fifty percent of the state’s Hispanic children, for example, were living in poverty in 2013, compared to the national rate of 33 percent.
“We need to do our best work to target groups of children who are more likely to be having worse outcomes,” Burke Bryant said.
Keynote speaker Christina Paxson, president of Brown University, emphasized the importance of recognizing these differences, saying many of the challenges faced by disadvantaged children can lead to “failure to thrive in adulthood.”
This year’s fact book includes for the first time data on babies born with exposure to opioids or alcohol. The agency says births of babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome have been on the rise in Rhode Island and nationally over the past decade.
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