Indiana makes progress in child well-being ranking
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Indiana's relative affordability for housing and child care are making the state a more attractive place to raise kids, according to a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Driving the news: The annual report, released Wednesday, ranks children's quality of life in four categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.
Why it matters: Indiana's 24th place child well-being ranking is our best result in a decade.
By the numbers: Indiana ranked 13th in education outcomes, 16th in economic well-being, 29th in health and 31st in family and community.
- Only four states had a smaller share of children living in households with a high housing cost burden and two were tied with Indiana at 21%.
- The annual cost of center-based child care for Hoosier toddlers was $7,884, which was cheaper than all but seven states.
Reality check: There is still plenty of room for improvement.
- Indiana is one of 33 states where infant care is more expensive than in-state tuition at public colleges.
- Lack of access to early childhood education continues to be an issue in many communities as well, with too many young Hoosier children — 60% of 3- and 4-year-olds — not in school.
Meanwhile, one of Indiana's biggest areas of improvement from the previous report was in the share of high school students not graduating on time, which fell to 9%.
- Only two states (Iowa and West Virginia) outperformed Indiana and three (Alabama, Kentucky and New Jersey) tied.
Yes, but: Some community leaders are concerned that Indiana is moving along too many students that haven't met graduation requirements through diploma waivers.
- The Indiana General Assembly passed a law this session to limit the number of students who graduate with waivers from counting toward publicized graduation rates.
Of note: This year marks the first time in the report's nearly 35-year history that parents' job stability is factored into the foundation's annual Kids Count Data Book assessment.
- Nationally, 13% of families with kids under age 5 quit or rejected job advancements due to child care problems.
- That figure was just 9% for Hoosier families.