A new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked Kansas 14th nationally for children’s well-being this year. The report compiled and compared data from 2019 to 2023 on economic well-being, education, health and family dynamics of children in the state. Kansas children had some of the best economic well-being of children in any state, but those children faced lagging well-being in health, education and family dynamics. Kansas ranked in the top third of states for child well-being, according to a new report.
Kansas children saw improvements in their family dynamics over four years. The rate of teen births dropped by more than 20%, while the percent of children in single-parent homes and living in high-poverty areas saw small decreases. Kansas struggled in educational well-being this year with a roughly 10-point increase in the percentage of fourth graders not proficient in reading and eighth graders not proficient in math. The Casey Foundation says Kansas need to invest in areas like tutoring, while looking at effective curriculum strategies to turn these numbers around.
