skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Alabama woman works to help returning citizens rebuild their lives; Marist polls: Harris leads Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin; they're tied in Pennsylvania; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on healthcare, safety, wages; NC dentists warn of crisis due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Teamsters choose not to endorse a presidential candidate, county officials in Texas fight back against state moves to limit voter registration efforts, and the FBI investigate suspicious packages sent to elections offices in at least 17 states.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

AZ Ranks Near Last Among States for Overall Child Well-Being

play audio
Play

Tuesday, June 13, 2017   

PHOENIX – Arizona ranks in the bottom five among states - 46th in the nation - for overall child well-being, according to the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, just out today.

The report compares the data from 2010 to 2015 and says one in four Arizona children is growing up in poverty, more than before the recession.

However, Dana Wolfe Naimark, president and CEO of the Children's Action Alliance, points to one bright spot - the state's ranking for children who have gained health insurance.

"Our ranking improved from 47 in 2010, to 44 this year, and we have a lot more children covered," she says. "And that is thanks to Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage through the Affordable Care Act."

Eight percent of Arizona kids remain uninsured. Naimark expects the progress to speed up next year because these numbers don't yet reflect KidsCare - which was reinstated by the Legislature last fall and has already enrolled more than 20,000 children.

However, she warns that the gains could be wiped out if Congress passes the American Health Care Act, which calls for billions in cuts to Medicaid, or AHCCCS, as it is known here.

The Casey Foundation's Laura Speer, associate director for Policy Reform and Advocacy, says they've been gathering these data points for almost 30 years to help lawmakers make informed decisions. She adds that children's economic well-being is a major predictor of their success later in life.

"Economic stability for families is really important for kids' well-being," Speer says. "In looking at their long-term development, it's about having access to the basics for families, so that kids can focus on what they need to focus on, which is healthy development and going to school."

The report says Arizona also cut the number of teen births, going from a ranking of 39th in the country to 33rd. However, those gains could be at risk, since the Legislature's last-minute change to family-planning funds that cuts Planned Parenthood out of the equation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021