Report: La. among worst states for children’s well-being

A new report from the Foundation for Child Development, a private nationwide philanthropy group, says there’s a strong correlation between state tax rates, the size of state investments in children and children’s quality of life. That places Louisiana among the worst states in which to raise a child, according to the State Child Well-Being Index, which is part of the FCD’s “Investing in Public Programs Matters: How State Policies Impact Children’s Lives” study. Louisiana is ranked 48th on the index, ahead of just Mississippi and New Mexico. New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Utah, Connecticut and Minnesota were ranked as the top states in which to raise a child. The FCD says the well-being index is the first ever to provide a comprehensive measure of children’s quality-of-life on a state-by-state basis. It assesses children’s quality of life in each state across 25 indicators clustered into seven categories: family economic well-being, health, safe/risky behavior, education attainment, community engagement, social relationships and emotional/spiritual well-being. “Because less than 10 percent of the federal budget is invested in children’s programs, state spending has a large impact on children’s well-being,” says FCD President Ruby Takanishi in a release. “With this new measure, we can see proof of the direct impact of state policies: when states invest in children, children do better.” Along with the rankings, the study—which was funded by the FCD and the Annie E. Casey Foundation—makes recommendations for what states must do to protect investments in child health and education. The full 82-page report is available here.