BOSTON - When it comes to the well-being of children, Massachusetts is first in the nation, according to the 25th annual Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count report. The commonwealth rose from third place last year to first this year.

The report examines 16 indicators across four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Noah Berger, president of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, says the strong numbers are a result of hard work.

"This number one ranking reflects the fact here in Massachusetts we've made real, significant and smart investments in our children, and it's paid off," says Berger. "Children in Massachusetts now have a better chance to succeed than anywhere else in America."

The commonwealth was ranked number one in education, number two in healthcare and number eight in child-related issues of family and community.

Despite the laudable results, Berger says there is room for improvement in several areas. The survey shows Massachusetts fourth-graders leading the nation in reading, with a proficiency level of 47 percent.

"On the other hand, that means 53 percent are not proficient," says Berger. "We can't leave half of our kids behind if you want to build a really strong economy and a strong and healthy society."

One of the four areas where Massachusetts slipped from last year's results is the percentage of children living in poverty, which is now up a percentage point over last year at 15 percent.

"One in seven children in Massachusetts grows up in poverty. While that's better than the nation as a whole, one in seven is far too many kids to be living in poverty in a nation and a state as wealthy as Massachusetts," says Berger.


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LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan advocates for children and families are praising many of the investments in the 2022 state budget passed this week, and said they hope to see more policy reforms as well.

The budget dedicates $1.4 billion dollars to child care at the state level, to make it more affordable, support childcare providers and the industry as a whole, and strengthen the workforce.

Alex Rossman, external affairs director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, said these investments are especially important for families' economic recovery from the pandemic.

"It's just not economically feasible for parents to pay for child care, when they're ultimately potentially spending more on child care than they're earning at a job," Rossman pointed out.

The budget also includes grants for child-care providers to update their facilitates, get technical assistance and other operational needs. Rossman added more families will be eligible for subsidized child care, and there are investments in maternal and infant health, as well as food and nutrition supports.

Rossman noted the budget is aimed not only at making care more affordable for families, but also ensuring that child-care providers get the support they need, including paying bonuses to child-care workers. He explained jobs in the field are often underpaid, which can lead to high turnover.

"Whether they are center care, franchise businesses or whether they're operating care out of their home, they have had increased financial challenges during the pandemic because of changes in enrollment and attendance there," Rossman observed.

He emphasized a bipartisan package is now in the works to make policy changes aimed at increasing access to high-quality childcare. It will include a bill to increase care for infants and toddlers, and to authorize family child-care networks.

DENVER -- As Congress considers making significant investments in the nation's child-care system, children's advocates say now is the time to make nature-based, high-quality outdoor learning available for all children in Colorado, regardless of their ZIP code.

Sarah Konradi, director of the Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program for the National Wildlife Federation, said kids need regular access to spaces where they can play, run and climb.

"We also want them to be able to explore, to imagine, to pretend, to create," Konradi outlined. "And so that may look like a little digging area in the shade of a tree, where they can explore worms and bugs."

ECHO has published new recommendations, calling for broadening investments in playgrounds to include outdoor extensions of the classroom; areas where kids create rules for new games, learn how to work together to build pirate ships, and other activities that help boost cognitive learning and social skills in natural settings.

Konradi pointed out child-care providers also see benefits from outdoor learning environments. Instead of monitoring recess on a traditional playground, educators can engage with kids as they explore winding pathways, plant pollinator gardens and create "mud kitchens."

Konradi noted building outdoor learning spaces does not necessarily require a lot of money or effort.

"Changes that we are advocating for can be extremely cost-effective; they can be done very incrementally," Konradi explained. "This doesn't have to be an extreme playground makeover to be successful."

When children get to spend a part of their day in natural settings, Konradi added, there is also an opportunity to pause, and take a deep breath.

"And spaces where children can just observe, contemplate," Konradi stated. "And with nature around us, we know that as adults going out into those kinds of environments is very restorative, and it can be for children as well."

BOISE, Idaho - An organization has rated Idaho lawmakers on how they voted for measures that affect children in the 2021 session.

Idaho Children Are Primary, or ICAP, identified 20 bills and determined if the policy was good or bad for kids. The main focus areas for the Kids Matter Index were education, health care and economic security.

Dr. Noreen Womack is a pediatrician with St. Luke's Children's Pediatrics in Nampa and a member of ICAP.

"The Kids Matter Index," said Womack, "is the legislative bill-rating system that we came up with in collaboration with others that work for children like Idaho Voices for Children to basically give a voice for kids because kids don't have lobbyists."

Eleven of the bills ICAP supported passed the Legislature, including emergency rental assistance funding, COVID-19 relief for childcare grants and extending the age people can be in foster care from 18 to 21.

Diane Schwarz, one of I-CAP's founders, said other organizations rate individual legislators on their votes for policies like gun rights. She said her group wanted to do the same for issues that affect children.

She said more than half of lawmakers scored 80% or above. However, Schwarz said she believes the bills introduced didn't go far enough to support children.

"Yes, they scored well based on the bills that were there," said Schwarz. "But I think it just shows that, based on the bills, there's a lot more work that has to be done in Idaho in future sessions."

As Idaho has one of the youngest populations in the country, Schwarz said it's critical to support kids because they will in turn support a vibrant, growing Idaho.