The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks Kansas 15th overall for child well-being. While that’s one spot higher than last year in the overall state rankings, Bryan Thompson reports the numbers aren’t so good, in terms of the economic well-being of Kansas kids.
Shannon Cotsoradis, who heads the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children, says Kansas families are struggling, economically.
“In 2012 we have 19% of children living in poverty,” she says. "That’s unchanged from 2011, but the trend has increased significantly over time. Just a few years ago, we were at 15%.”
That was in 2008. But while these indicators have gotten worse in Kansas, the report ranks Kansas 7th overall, in terms of children’s economic well-being. In essence, Kansas has gotten worse, but not as much so as other states.