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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Nebraska Scores 9th in New National Rankings for Child Well-Being

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Wednesday, June 27, 2018   

OMAHA, Neb. – Nebraska continues to be a great place to be a kid.

The state made the top ten best states for children's well-being in the 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report ranks states in areas of health, education, economic security and family and community.

Chrissy Tonkinson, research coordinator with Voices for Children in Nebraska says the Data Book also warns that the state faces a potential under-count of its young children in the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census. She notes children of color, and those from low-income and immigrant families are most at risk of being overlooked.

"And since many federal programs are dependent on the census data to determine funding, these are the exact children who are going to potentially be harmed most by being missed in these counts," Tonkinson says.

The state is ranked second nationally for economic well-being, which Tonkinson says is a result of high rates of employment, among both parents and teens. And Nebraska's 89-percent high school graduation rate helped the state's number eight ranking in education.

However, almost 8 percent of Nebraska children live in high-poverty areas, which puts the state near the middle of the pack, at 21st in the category of Family and Community.

Nationally, the report shows a rebounding economy has helped many families. It says 1.6 million fewer kids are living in poverty, more parents have jobs, and fewer families are spending a disproportionate amount of their income on housing.

And yet, one in five kids nationwide still lives in poverty, says Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and advocacy at the Casey Foundation.

"That means about 14 million children living in households that don't have enough income, really, to get by," Speer explains. "The trends are going in the right direction, but it's still too many kids and their families who are struggling just to make ends meet."

The young-child undercount has gotten worse with every census since 1980, with 1 million kids missed in 2010.

To get a more accurate count, Speer suggests the U.S. Census Bureau fully fund state and local outreach, and ramp up efforts to reach people in hard-to-count areas.

She notes participation rates could dramatically drop if the agency adds a question about U.S. citizenship, and says it's critical that government officials guarantee respondents' information will be protected.



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