NASHVILLE, Tenn. — More than one-fourth of Tennessee children are living in poverty, up from a few years ago during the Great Recession, according to a Kids Count report published Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The report showed a state child poverty rate of 27 percent in 2013, 5 percentage points higher than it was in 2008.
It measured the national rate at 22 percent, also a setback from 2008.
The percent of children whose parents lack secure employment also worsened both nationally and statewide, now at 34 percent in Tennessee.
“Although we are several years past the end of the recession, millions of families still have not benefited from the economic recovery,” said Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Casey Foundation.
“While we’ve seen an increase in employment in recent years, many of these jobs are low-wage and cannot support even basic family expenses.”
Tennessee’s overall ranking for child well-being, 36th in the country, remains unchanged from 2014.
The ranking is composed of four areas: economic well-being (Tennessee ranks 38th), education (36th), health (30th) and family and community (37th).
Tennessee immediately follows Kentucky and North Carolina in the overall rankings and is ahead of all other Southeastern states.
Other areas that worsened since 2008 include the percentage of children not attending preschool (now 61 percent), those living in single-parent households (38 percent) and those living in high-poverty areas (16 percent).
“Poverty creates a number of barriers for children’s health. It’s very hard to get kids to the doctor, it’s hard for some kids to get to a medical home,” said Dr. Jon McCullers with Lebonheur Children’s Hospital.
Linda O’Neal, the executive director of the state’s Kids Count affiliate, the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said she hopes for comprehensive solutions to the troublesome rates.
“Substantially improving outcomes for Tennessee children requires a two-generation approach to reducing poverty,” she said.
“We must support parents by improving education, employability, and parenting skills, while at the same time providing high-quality early learning opportunities for their children.”
There is hope for positive change; the report showed improvements in seven of eight categories in children’s education and health.
One highlight is the percentage of high school students graduating on time, 17 percent, which puts Tennessee at 20th in the country.
In the health category, Tennessee is tied with 15 other states for the lowest percentage of teens who abuse alcohol or drugs at only 5 percent.
Tennessee also showed significant improvement in lowering the teen birth rate; 2013 saw 35 births per 1,000 teens, down from 52 in 2008. However, due to improvement across the country in this measure, the state still sits near the bottom of this ranking at 42nd.
Arkansas is ranked 44 and Mississippi is ranked 50 in child well-being.