NASHVILLE (AP) — The Annual Kids Count report on Tennessee says more than a quarter of the state's children live in poverty and worsening economic conditions explain why child well-being in the Volunteer State has dropped from 36 to 38.
The Kids Count Data Book ranks child well-being on four different factors: Economic well-being, education, health and family and community. Linda O'Neal, director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, said in a statement that Tennessee had made improvements in health and education. Kids were less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and the teen birth rate has fallen 37 percent since 2008.
But the report found that the state's overall score is down because of the dire economic conditions that many of the state's children are living in.