Improvements in Tennessee's infant mortality and high school dropout rates show the potential for public policies to make inroads into social problems, said an advocate for children's health.
Thanks in part to a statewide focus on the issue, plus funding for prevention, Tennessee's infant death rate in 2007 was the lowest it has been since 2000, according to a new report on children's well-being in Tennessee.
"While still too many babies are low birthweight and are dying, we've seen some improvement in recent years," said Linda O'Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.
The state agency included the statistic in its annual Kids Count report, released today.
CHILD POVERTY RATES -- 2007* Tennessee: 22.5 percent (324,562 children)* Hamilton County: 20 percent (14,514 children)* Davidson County: 24.2 percent (34,502 children)* Grundy County: 41 percent (1,381 children)Source: Tennessee Commission on Children and YouthSTD RATES FOR TEENS* 1997: 18.0 per 1,000* 2004: 19.1 per 1,000* 2007: 22.5 per 1,000Source: Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth
"When we provide the kinds of services and support that help children have the opportunity to be healthy, to be educated, they're more likely to become productive employees and citizens," she said.
But the state is not short on challenges, which are detailed in the county-level statistics -- ranging from poverty levels to teen birthrates -- found in the Kids Count report.
The new report follows the release of the national Kids Count databook earlier this year. The databook, issued by private charitable organization Annie E. Casey Foundation, provides state-level data and ranks the 50 states in terms of child well-being.
Poverty remains a challenge that underlies numerous social problems for children, advocates say. The percent of children in the state getting free or reduced-price lunches jumped from 38.8 percent in 2007 to 43.9 percent in 2008.
More than 14,500 children in Hamilton County are living in poverty, according to the report.
And the economic recession has worsened the situation, said Bo Walker, chief operating officer for the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults, a social service agency in Chattanooga.
"Poverty is the key to a lot of the problems that we see" with children, he said. "If you get a kid who's hungry, ill and get can't get treatment, you can expect naturally there are going to be behavior problems on top of that."
Improvements in the state's dismal infant mortality rates have been driven by numerous programs aimed at addressing the complex causes of the problem, said Rae Bond, chairwoman of the Core Leadership Group, which coordinates local groups working on infant mortality.
Still, out of every 1,000 births, 8.3 babies die before their first birthdays in Tennessee, the report said.
"It takes a long time to have a significant impact, but I think we have many of the pieces in place. We've been able to dramatically increase access to prenatal care" locally, Bond said.
One example is the Centering Pregnancy program in Hamilton County, run by the Southside and Dodson Avenue Community Health Centers in cooperation with Erlanger Health System. The evidence-based program brings together expecting mothers into groups -- known as "cohorts" -- for education and prenatal care and was funded by a state grant, said Bill Hicks, executive director of the health centers.
State dropout rates also have improved thanks to state laws that link eligibility for driver's licenses to school attendance and that require children to stay in school until they are 18, O'Neal said.
Between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of teen high-school dropouts declined from 11 percent to 7 percent, mirroring national trends, O'Neal said.
The Kids Count report also highlights the challenge of physician shortages in rural areas and high sexually transmitted disease rates in Hamilton County.
For every 100,000 people, there are 284 doctors in Hamilton County, compared to just 25.4 in Meigs County, 27.5 in Grundy County and 30.4 in Sequatchie County, the report says.
The state Department of Health offers loan repayment grants to encourage new primary care doctors to practice in underserved areas, both urban and rural, and funding for such efforts has helped address physician shortages, said Patrick Lipford, director of the Tennessee Office of Rural Health.
"We're not as bad off as we could have been," he said.
Other highlights of the Kids Count report include:
* In Southeast Tennessee, Grundy County had the highest rate of TennCare enrollees, with 35 percent of the population enrolled compared to 17.2 percent in Hamilton County.
* Out of the Southeast Tennessee counties, Hamilton County had the highest teen dropout rate, with 16.8 percent of teens dropping out of high school.
* Hamilton County also had one of the highest STD rates in the state, with 35.6 per 1,000 teens infected.
Contact Emily Bregel at ebregel@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6467.