New study says Shelby County is best place in Alabama to be a kid, By Kim Chandler, September 27, 2011, Birmingham News: “Shelby County is the best place to be a child in Alabama, according to a study ranking indicators of child well-being. The 2010 Kids Count Data Book ranked Shelby No. 1 in the state in a survey weighing factors such as births to unmarried teens, children in single-parent families, child poverty and the high school graduation rate. Shelby County was followed by Blount, Lee, Limestone, Cleburne, St. Clair and Madison as top counties in the state. Dallas County, in the poverty-stricken Black Belt, ranked last in the state…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty