For the first time in six years, the number of Arkansas children living in poverty decreased, according to the 2016 Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT® Data Book. Last year the state ranked 48th, with 202,000 children living in poverty; this year Arkansas saw a decline to 184,000 children in poverty, putting the state in 41st place and helping bump the overall economic well-being score to 36.

The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which focuses on key trends in child well-being in the post-recession years, measures child well-being in four domains: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. This year, fewer Arkansas children live in poverty; more have health insurance; and more attend pre-K.

See the entire 2016 Kids Count Data Book here.

See Arkansas-specific data here.

However, Arkansas plummeted 12 spots overall in Health, putting it in 46th place. Though the state decreased its number of uninsured children from 6 percent to 5 percent (which is down from 22 percent when ARKids First began in 1997) low birthweight babies and child and teen deaths per 100,000 both increased slightly. The teen birth rate dropped from 44 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19, to 40, but the state maintained its 50th-place spot in the rankings. This indicates that the rest of the nation may be improving at a faster rate.

“Our economy has really rebounded in the last couple of years, unemployment is low, and that’s good for families’ economic well-being,” says Mike Malone, president and CEO at Northwest Arkansas Council. “But to continue growing and moving in the right direction, we have to ensure that we’re preparing our future workforce through smart investments in education,

health, and other areas.”

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Executive Director Rich Huddleston echoes Malone’s sentiments and emphasizes the importance of key policy changes. “While Arkansas’s improved economic well-being score is encouraging, specifically the lower child poverty rate, it’s important to bear in mind that 26 percent of Arkansas children — more than one in four — still live in poverty. The national average is 22 percent. We have a long way to go and must encourage lawmakers to enact sound tax and budget policies, like a state-level earned income tax credit (EITC), so that Arkansas families can find a permanent solution out of poverty.”

21 June 2016