Report: Alabama Children Improve on Health, Family Measures
Alabama improved on several measures of child health and well-being in the 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, though the state lags compared to the rest of the nation. The study examined 16 indicators in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Alabama saw improvement in 11 of those indicators.
Alabama came in 42nd nationally in overall child well-being in the report released Tuesday. That’s the highest ranking ever for Alabama, with one important caveat: researchers say because of changes in the survey, this year’s ranking can’t be compared to previous ones.
Alabama led the nation in one indicator: low rates of teen alcohol and drug abuse. The survey found just 4 percent of Alabama teens (12- to 17-year-olds) abused alcohol and drugs in the last year. Alabama came in second nationally with only 2 percent of children without access to health insurance.
While Alabama improved in many areas, it still ranks higher than the national average on some indicators. A quarter of children in Alabama live in poverty compared to the national average of 19 percent. Alabama also saw 38 child and teen deaths per 100,000 compared to 26 nationally.
“Alabama has made great strides over the last few years, however, we still have a great deal of work to do,” says Rhonda Mann, interim executive director of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, which is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT network. “If we are not implementing new policies for systemic change that will move the needle, then child well-being isn’t improving regardless of the state’s ranking.”
Click to see Alabama’s 2018 KIDS COUNT profile or read the entire report.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
Alabama’s racial, ethnic health disparities are ‘more severe’ than other states, report says
Data from the Commonwealth Fund show that the quality of care people receive and their health outcomes worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
