Report: More than a quarter of Alabama children live in poverty
By Amy Yurkanin | ayurkanin@al.com AL.com
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The Great Recession hasn't released its grip on Alabama children, who suffer higher rates of poverty than they did 15 years ago, according to the latest Kids Count Data Book.
About 27 percent of Alabama children live in households that earn $25,000 or less for a family of four. Almost half of those children live in extreme poverty, with a household income of less than $12,000 a year. All told, about 300,000 children and families lack the economic resources needed to obtain safe housing, healthy food and adequate child care.
Not all Alabama children are equally affected by poverty. Although the poverty rate has gone up in all demographics, African-American and Hispanic children are more than twice as likely to live in low-income households as their white counterparts, according to the report.
The rate of children living in poverty increased from 21.5 percent in 2000 to 26.9 percent from 2009 to 2013. In Dallas County, more than half of children live in low-income households, according to the report.
The 2015 Alabama Kids Count Data Book contains county-by-county information on several indicators of child wellbeing, including infant mortality, high school graduation rates and poverty rates. Although there has been some improvement in areas such as teen birth rates and foster care, the state's economic stagnation has stalled progress in many areas, said Rhonda Mann, policy and research director for VOICES for Alabama's Children, the organization that produced the report.
"Incomes that are that low are not going to move you into an area with access to the best resources available for education, safety and health," Mann said.
According to the report, Wilcox County is the worst county in Alabama for children, and Shelby County is the best. County scores were created out of a composite of nine indicators: children in poverty, fourth grade reading proficiency, unemployment rate, food insecurity, low-weight births, single-parent families, births to unmarried teens, teens not working and not in school and overall births to teens.
Wilcox County has been low on the list for years, Mann said, but the point of the report is not to pit counties against one another. Instead, counties can compare their numbers from year-to-year to see progress and setbacks, she said.
"A county is only in competition with itself," Mann said. "You can't expect Wilcox County compete with counties that are much larger and have a different economic situation."
Shelby County has the state's lowest unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, and Wilcox County has the highest, 17.4 percent.
The report also showed how demographics are changing among the children of Alabama. The percentage of Hispanic children has nearly tripled since 2000, and births to Asians are also on the rise. The percentage of black and white babies is declining.
"A county is only in competition with itself," Mann said.
Overall, the child population in Alabama is declining, and the overall population is getting older.
Although poverty is up for Alabama's youngest citizens, progress has been made in other areas. The statewide graduation rate increased by 6 percentage points last year, and more children than ever attended pre-kindergarten.
Juvenile court petition rates for violent crime fell by almost half, mirroring a national trend. Violent crime by juveniles is at a 30-year low across the nation, according to the report.
Mann said she hopes lawmakers heed the sharp decline in juvenile court petitions as they seek to strengthen programs with proven impact.
The state has lost ground or made little progress in several areas. The number of fully licensed and inspected daycare facilities has declined by nearly 60 percent since 2000. The number of license-exempt daycares has been rising during the same time.
Alabama is one of just seven states that exclude some religious daycares from regular licensing requirements, and the rise in license-exempt daycare centers could put children's safety in jeopardy, according to the report.
"All children need to be in safe and healthy child care environments while parents are at work or attending school, but with the current policy for child care licensing, Alabama is choosing which children to protect. We can only ensure children are safe when all programs are required to meet, at least, the same floor of protections including criminal background checks for all staff and adequate child-to-staff ratios," said Melanie Bridgeforth, executive director of VOICES for Alabama's Children in a press release.
The state's overall infant mortality rate has barely budged since 2003. The rate declined by one-tenth of a percent, from a rate of 8.7 to 8.6 babies per 1,000 live births in 2013. The infant mortality rate for white babies actually increased slightly during the same time period, but black and Hispanic babies still face much higher odds of dying before their first birthday.
Only Mississippi, Louisiana and Guam have higher rates of infant mortality than Alabama. The national infant mortality rate is 6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
The lack of progress on infant mortality could be related to economics as well, Mann said. A mother who can't afford healthy food or trips to the doctor may not have a healthy pregnancy, she said.
National Kids Count reports often place Alabama near the bottom for child well-being. But those reports can provide important information to help the state make progress to improve the lives of its children, Mann said.
"I know it's rough being at the bottom, but we want to make sure we are moving forward," Mann said.