State officials: Positive child well being trend masks full story

Connecticut may rank eighth in overall child well-being nationwide but today’s children still face steep economic and financial obstacles.

So say representatives of the Connecticut Association for Human Services about the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 30th annual KIDS COUNT report released this month.

“Indicators show a relatively stable Connecticut that is gradually improving,” said Sheryl Horowitz, chief of research for the Association. “The problem is that this is not the whole story. Connecticut’ s large percentage of white residents, present in many of our towns projects an overall image of well-being for its children. The real story however, is found below the surface, within its racial and ethnic groups.”

In three of the four measures, black and Latino children are consistently scoring between 10 to 30 percentage points lower than their white counterparts.

The association plans a press conference Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford to discuss the findings.

Expected participants include Commissioner of Early Childhood, Beth Bye; Steven Hernandez, the executive director of the Commission on Women Children and Seniors, and Merrill Gay, Executive Director of the Early Childhood Alliance.

According to the report, Connecticut ranks eigth overall when health, education, economic well-being and family and community circumstances are considered.

Connecticut had its best showing in education, ranking third nationwide, due in larger part to having only 65 percent of three and four-year-olds in preschool. Also more high school students graduate on time. But the number of eighth graders proficient in math is down from a decade ago and racial and ethnic disparities...

from News https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/State-officials-Positive-child-well-being-trend-14202209.php