The 2009 Kids Count Databook
WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO IMPROVE SOUTH CAROLINA'S RANKINGS?
No one is willing to accept the rank of children in South Carolina as 45th in overall child well-being. In order to transform our concern into focused action, we should note that South Carolina can reach improved rankings by reducing the numbers and rates of problems for each of the indicators as follows:
| Indicator | Current Number & Rate of Children in SC** | Required Reduction in Number and Rate to Improve Ranking | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39th | 25th | 10th | 1st | ||||||||
| Rank | # | Rate* | # | Rate | # | Rate | # | Rate | # | Rate | |
| Low Birthweight | 47 | 6,292 | 10.1 | 623 | 1 | 1,121 | 1.8 | 1,993 | 3.2 | 2,554 | 4.1 |
| Infant Mortality | 45 | 522 | 8.4 | 31 | 0.5 | 99 | 1.6 | 174 | 2.8 | 230 | 3.7 |
| Child Deaths (1-14) | 34 | 178 | 22.4 | NA | NA | 19 | 2.4 | 53 | 6.7 | 105 | 13.2 |
| Teen Deaths (15-19) | 32 | 237 | 75.2 | NA | NA | 26 | 8.4 | 66 | 21 | 129 | 40.9 |
| Births to Teens (15-19) | 38 | 8,175 | 53 | NA | NA | 2,005 | 13 | 3,872 | 25.1 | 5,291 | 34.3 |
| Idle Teens (16-19) | 31 | 25,229 | 9.5 | NA | NA | 4,515 | 1.7 | 10,092 | 3.8 | 14,606 | 5.5 |
| Families with Children Without Secure Employment | 33 | 357,535 | 33.8 | NA | NA | 14,809 | 1.4 | 62,410 | 5.9 | 102,606 | 9.7 |
| Children in Poverty | 40 | 218,250 | 20.9 | 7,310 | 0.7 | 44,903 | 4.3 | 88,762 | 8.5 | 126,355 | 12.1 |
| Children in Single-Parent Families | 46 | 371,624 | 37.8 | 39,325 | 4 | 64,887 | 6.6 | 100,279 | 10.2 | 192,694 | 19.6 |
| High School Dropouts (16-19) (1)*** | 43 | 22,705 | 8.5 | 1,870 | 0.7 | 5,075 | 1.9 | 10,952 | 4.1 | 17,897 | 6.7 |
| High School Dropouts (2)**** | 47 | 20,050 | 37.8 | 3,713 | 7 | 7,479 | 14.1 | 10,449 | 19.7 | 13,738 | 25.9 |
*Child and teen deaths are rates per 100,000. Teen births and infant mortality are rates per 1,000. All others are percentages.
**2006 and 2007 data for SC calculated by the Casey Foundation is used in order to compare with 2006 and 2007 national data.
***The Casey Foundation uses sample-based data collected by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for 16-19 year olds not in school and not graduating or obtaining a GED.
****South Carolina Kids Count has made an alternative calculation using 8th grade to graduation cohort data from USDOE/NCES and SDE. This data is the same as presented in SC Kids Count reports but linked with NCES data for all 50 states' rates of graduation rates with a state high school diploma, excluding all certificates or GEDs.