Child advocates in Tennessee and Georgia say a recent ranking of states based on child well-being may be painting a too-rosy picture.
The ranking is based on data collected before the economic recession unleashed a wave of unemployment and budget cuts, the advocates say.
“We’ve been hit with an economy that may bring these numbers back to where they were a few years ago,” said Pat Willis, executive director of Voices for Georgia’s Children, a public policy and advocacy organization. “I hope we don’t let the economy push us to sort of wring our hands and feel like we can’t do anything” to improve.
Tennessee achieved its best-ever state ranking in the annual Kids Count report, coming in at 41st, up from 46th last year, with improvements in areas including infant mortality and high school dropout rates.
Linda O’Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said she hopes the report will illustrate the progress made in Tennessee and “will help people realize how important it is to keep in place that essential foundation of services and supports that help children be healthy and succeed in school.”