More of Rhode Island’s children are living in poverty this year than last. That’s one of the highlights of a new report from Kids Count – a project of the children’s think tank The Annie E. Casey Foundation. But some measures of child well-being have improved.
The Kids Count’s annual report tracks children’s well-being by a number of different measures, including poverty, education, and health. This year Rhode Island slipped a rank when it comes to the percentage of children living in poverty. Also, the Ocean state lost a percentage point for the number of young children not going to school yet – a negative according to preschool proponents.
But Rhode Island boosted the number of kids who have health insurance – leaving just six percent without it. Also, just 18 percent of high schoolers are not graduating on time, a big improvement from less than a decade ago.
