- Strong lives begin with investment in early childhood development, report says, By Lois M. Collins, November 3, 2013, Deseret News: “The first-grader is trying to sound out tiny words like ‘in’ and ‘the,’ but it’s hard because she doesn’t know all the letters. She’s especially mixed up with capital I and T, her brow furrowed as she debates which one to guess. A volunteer tutor waits a few beats before telling her it’s a T and helping her make the sound. Few things are as important to a child’s future as ability to read, according to a KIDS COUNT policy report released Monday by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. But even getting to that point is a process that involves lots of steps. ‘The First Eight Years’ report highlights the need to invest in children from the beginning of their lives across diverse areas that include cognitive skills and social, emotional and physical development…”
- ‘Kids Count’ report says American children falling behind by age 8, By Brian Smith, November 4, 2013, Mlive: “The latest ‘Kids Count’ report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation today says children in the United States are falling behind academically, physically and emotionally by third grade. The report, ‘The First Eight Years,’ says only 36 percent of American children are scoring at or above average in mathematics, reading and science in third grade, and only 56 percent of third-grade students are at a healthy weight and in ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ physical condition…”
- Report: Majority of young Iowans living in poverty not enrolled in preschool, By Meryn Fluker, November 4, 2013, Cedar Rapids Gazette: “The majority of Iowa’s 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families were not enrolled in preschool in 2011, according to results from an Annie E. Casey Foundation report released today. The report defines low-income as families whose annual income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty limit. The data estimates show that, of the 34,000 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families in Iowa in 2011, 21,000 of them (61 percent) were not enrolled in preschool…”
- Kentucky kids tops in trauma, mired in poverty, report says, By Chris Kenning, November 4, 2013, Louisville Courier-Journal: “One in 10 Kentucky children have already had three or more traumatic experiences before they’re 9 years old — including family divorce, death, domestic violence or drug abuse — a rate tied for the highest in the country. And half of the state’s children are in low-income families. Those startling statistics, part of a report released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Kentucky Youth Advocates, give clear evidence to the fact that Kentucky needs to offer expanded early childhood care that is focused not only on academic preparation, but also on safety, health and family well-being, child advocates contend…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty