The well-being of children in Wisconsin has gotten worse since 2010, according to the new 2019 Kids Count Data Book by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Executive director of Kids Forward Wisconsin, Ken Taylor, says the report shows the state ranks 13th nationwide, but says gaps still remain between children of color and their white peers. “Our initial reaction is unfortunately that this is a continuation of trends that we’ve seen here which is we’re basically at standstill when it comes to the well-being of our kids,” Taylor told WFDL news. “This year we’re ranked 13th and we don’t think that 13th is good enough for Wisconsin’s kids.” Taylor says the report shows 36-percent of African-American children live in poverty, which is four times the rate of white kids in the state. Taylor says the report ranks Wisconsin 18th for the percentage of children without health insurance, noting other states implementing Medicaid expansion have far surpassed its top-five status. On education, the state ranks 30th in fourth-,grade reading proficiency as nearly two-thirds of fourth graders don’t read at grade level. Erica Nelson is the Kids Count Race to Equity Project Director for Kids Forward and says there has been some progress in areas such as an uptick in children attending preschool. Broadly speaking, children in the United States had a better chance at thriving in 2017 than in 1990 – with improvements in 11 of the 16 Kids Count measures of child well-being. But racial and ethnic disparities such as those in Wisconsin persist across the country.
