skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

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

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Report: Arizona Ranks Poorly in Overall Child Well-Being

play audio
Play

Wednesday, June 14, 2023   

New data ranks Arizona 39th in the country for overall child well-being.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2023 Kids Count Data Book, Arizona did not score well across the four domains the group said "children and youth need most to thrive." Those areas are economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.

Kelley Murphy, Interim CEO of the Children's Action Alliance in Arizona, agreed Arizona has not made much progress over the years. She said it is a reflection of what the state does and does not invest in, as it pertains to children.

"We see that we do rank low and we have families struggling who can't access child care for their children," Murphy pointed out. "It is reflective of what we prioritize. We've never decided to go back to that place where we were funding things the way we should be funding them."

Murphy emphasized the cost of child care has increased much faster than the rate of inflation. It is recommended parents should not spend more than about 7% of their income on child care, but in Arizona, child care costs more than $10,000 per year, per child, making it unaffordable for many.

The report found federal and state governments do little to help families afford child care, and the shortcomings of the child care system disproportionately affect the financial well-being of women, single parents, low-income families, and people of color.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said while the child care system needs serious investment, the report also highlights some positives.

"One 'good news' story is that the child poverty rates actually improved during the pandemic," Boissiere reported. "We believe this is in large part due to family-supporting policies that were put in place, including the expansion of the Child Tax Credit, which unfortunately was not made permanent."

Boissiere noted it was the largest one-time reduction in child poverty in a single year. She added keeping the expanded Child Tax Credit in place would have made a significant impact on the number of children and families who are able to make it out of poverty.

Disclosure: The Annie E. Casey Foundation contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Education, Juvenile Justice, and Welfare Reform. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

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