Kids Count Report: “America’s Childcare System is Broken”

(MISSOURINET) – Missouri ranks ahead of half of its neighboring states in the new Kids Count Data Book on child well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks Missouri 28th – down one spot from the previous year’s ranking of 27th. Lisa Hamilton, the president and CEO of the organization, says Missouri’s best ranking is 18th in economic well-being.

The report, which uses 2021 government data, shows about 356-thousand Missouri children have parents who lack secure employment and about 219-thousand live in poverty. Iowa ranks 6th in child well-being, Nebraska ranks 8th, Kansas ranks 17th, Illinois ranks 19th, Tennessee ranks 36th, Kentucky ranks 40th, Arkansas ranks 43rd, and Oklahoma ranks 46th.