Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Wednesday, February 18, 2015
(UNDATED) - An annual report examining multiple facets of children’s health and wellbeing finds several areas need improvement in Indiana.
According to the 2015 Kids Count Data Book compiled by the Indiana Youth Institute the state ranks high in child poverty, teen suicide and infant mortality.
Poverty is among the biggest challenges faced by children in Indiana according to the annual summary of how kids are doing overall.
Although the economy is rebounding from the recession, the 2015 Kids County Data Book finds 22 percent of children live in poverty.
More than 40 percent are born to single mothers, which is another contributor to the high child poverty rate.
Another factor is that many jobs require higher education levels that parents often don't have the resources to obtain and 30 percent of the children lived in families where neither parent had regular full-time employment.
Infant mortality is another area state leaders have been working to address. Indiana infants are 25 percent more likely to die within their first year of life than the national average.
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