South Carolina Kids Count
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2005 Kids Count Databook, South Carolina ranks 45th in the well-being of children, our second worst rating during the past decade. South Carolina is just behind Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arizona, but ahead of only New Mexico, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The best state in the nation has consistently been New Hampshire. Mississippi has been the worst. Not a single county in South Carolina is even close to New Hampshire. Pickens', Greenville's and Lexington's average rates are closest to but 53%, 63% and 67% higher than New Hampshire; 36 out of 46 counties have problem rates at least double those of New Hampshire. Equally alarming, twelve counties have average rates worse than Mississippi's, with Allendale and Marlboro 34% and 20% higher.
The 2005 report is discouraging because it confirms that South Carolina is stuck in the bottom six or seven states with the worst child wellbeing. Our state previously ranked 46th, 44th, and 46th in the prior three years. South Carolina's poor ranking is caused primarily by six indicators: low birthweight, infant mortality, teen deaths, child deaths, single-parent families, and children living in families without full-time yearly employment. On these six indicators, South Carolina ranks in the bottom ten states:
South Carolina's less unfavorable rankings are for the following:
Even though our ranking has remained in the bottom ten states for a decade, significant improvement is possible - and critically necessary.
Reducing the problems portrayed in the 2005 Kids Count Data Book requires improvement in the daily lives of children and their families, assisted with support from relatives, neighbors, the community, and many private and public organizations. In the past, state-level organizations have joined in partnerships working with and through community coalitions to help families improve the lives of their children. Some examples are the March of Dimes Campaign to Prevent Prematurity, Safe Kids South Carolina's efforts to promote use of seatbelts and child car seats, the South Carolina Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's work with local teen pregnancy councils, and the partnership of DHHS, DHEC, and the medical community to provide primary care for all pregnant mothers and children.
Based on recent experience, there are too few of these state and community efforts in South Carolina to support our families and children. Without far greater support, our families and children will not make sufficient progress to be reflected in future rankings that will become a source of pride rather than shame. Calls have been made to improve the state's wealth in terms of per capita income, to reduce the tax burden, and to make government more efficient. However, three decades of economic development strategic plans, tax reform proposals, and restructuring efforts do not seem to have succeeded very much in elevating the progress of the state's families and their children. Only when families thrive and children grow up and develop into productive workers, form their own strong families, and become contributing members of their communities will South Carolina escape the bottom of the heap on national rankings, including per capita income and child poverty. Are we truly committed in South Carolina to raising a generation of healthy, successful children who can compete on a fully equal basis with the rest of the nation and the world? The 2005 Kids Count Data Book is another haunting reminder that our state is not committed to do what is required.
Every journey begins with a few steps forward. South Carolina Kids Count proposes to work with state-level and community partners on the traditionally "worst five" indicators: low birthweight, infant mortality, births to teens, child deaths, and violent teen deaths. South Carolina's ranking on these worst five health and safety indicators averages 43rd, while our rankings on the other five social, educational, and economic indicators (single-parent families, dropouts, idle teens, underemployed families, and child poverty) averages 31st. Addressing healthy, intended births and child safety is both practical and compelling for a responsible and compassionate state. It requires:
These paths to progress are practical and achievable. But as citizens in South Carolina, we must all be committed to doing our part. It is time to ask: are we truly committed?
The attached contacts sheet with brief quotes introduces some of the people who are both well informed and committed to improving the wellbeing of families and their children. They have been selected because of their work to remedy the painful consequences of the "worst five" indicators of unhealthy and unintended births and child safety. Their guidance can help us deal with an achievable initial goal of escaping the bottom group of states by reaching an overall ranking of 39th, as presented in the following table. We should definitely heed their advice and act with commitment to do the obvious things that we already know to be responsible, prudent and compassionate.
| Indicator | Needed Reduction | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | Per County | Current | Goal | |
| Child Deaths | 50 deaths | 1 death | 42 | 25 |
| Teen Deaths | 65 deaths | 1 death | 41 | 25 |
| Infant Mortality | 96 deaths | 2 deaths | 47 | 39 |
| Low Birthweight | 764 births | 17 births | 48 | 39 |
| Births to Teens | 0 births | 0 births | 39 | 39 |
| 0 births | 30 births | 39 | 25 | |
The proposed reductions are ambitious but attainable during a five-year period. This would involve per county only four deaths of infants, children, and teens, and seventeen fewer births of low weight babies. Reducing births to teens by 30 per county would bring South Carolina to the national average on this indicator and, in combination with the other improvements in the table, would make South Carolina's national ranking 37th, just ahead of Texas and Oklahoma.
To illustrate the challenge statewide, What Would It Take To Improve South Carolina's Rankings? presents the number of deaths, births to teens, dropouts, etc. that would have to be reduced in order for the state to improve our ranking to 39th, 25th, 10th, and 1st in the nation.
To demonstrate the challenge on county-by-county basis, What Would it Take for the County to Reach the National Average? presents the numbers of deaths, births to teens, poor children, etc. that would need to be reduced in order for each county to be at the national average. Only if every community across our state supports children more effectively can South Carolina catch up with the nation. To make the ranking question pertinent at the local level, What Would it Take for the County to Reach the National Average? also shows what rank the county would be among the 50 states for each of the Kids Count indicators.
Annie E. Casey Foundation South Carolina Profile from 2005 National Databook (PDF).