Report says high child poverty rate is obstacle, By Shay Maunz, February 19, 2013, Charleston Daily Mail: “Without its persistently high rate of child poverty, West Virginia could reduce other nagging societal problems like the rates of divorce, obesity, addiction and teen pregnancy. That’s the premise of a new report from the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. That report, released Tuesday, details the state’s ‘growing and persistent’ problem with child poverty — an issue that has plagued West Virginia for generations…”
Child poverty in W.Va. a persistent problem, report says, By Lori Kersey, February 19, 2013, Charleston Gazette: “While West Virginia has reduced the number of seniors living in poverty, child poverty is a growing problem, according to a report released by two organizations Tuesday. The state’s senior poverty rate fell from 39.2 percent in 1969 to just more than 10 percent today, the report stated. It was released by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy and the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition…”
W.Va. has 10th-highest teen birth rate in US, By Shay Maunz, February 5, 2013, Charleston Daily Mail: “West Virginia’s teen birth rate has improved over the last year, but the gap between the percentage of teen mothers in the state versus the country is bigger now than ever. For years, the number of teen births in West Virginia was trending slowly but steadily down, right along with national figures. But in 2006, the teen birth rate in West Virginia began to worsen while the national rate continued to improve. The disparity between the two became worse than ever. New data from Kids Count, a child advocacy group, shows that in 2011, West Virginia’s teen birth rate was 46.3 per 1,000 teens. That’s far worse than the national average of 37.5 for every 1,000 teens…”
W.Va.’s teen birth rate down, Kids Count data says, By Lori Kersey, February 5, 2013, Charleston Gazette: “Fewer West Virginia teenagers had babies in 2010 than in 2009, but the state still ranks among the 10 highest in the country for children born to teenage mothers, according to a study released to Tuesday from Kids Count West Virginia. The teen birth rate for West Virginia and the nation had been on the decrease for decades until 2006 and 2007, when both rates increased. In 2008, the national rate declined again, while West Virginia’s rate continued to increase. But the latest data shows that in 2010, West Virginia’s teen birth rate fell to 45 births per 1,000 teenage girls. That’s down from 50 births per 1,000 teenagers in 2009. Officials are hopeful, but they aren’t sure what to make of the decline…”
Many Arizona foster children living far from home, By Mary K. Reinhart, September 1, 2012, Arizona Republic: “A steady decline in foster homes combined with a record number of Arizona children in foster care means hundreds of kids taken from their families every month are being sent to live dozens, sometimes hundreds, of miles away from home. And nearly 1,900 of the state’s 13,500 foster children, including babies and toddlers, are living in crisis shelters and group homes because there are no family foster homes for them. Despite policies that require Arizona’s Child Protective Services to place kids as close to their homes as possible when they are removed from their parents because of suspected abuse or neglect, the state often fails to make that happen, to the detriment of the children and their families…”
U.S. finds W.Va. not in compliance on foster care, By Lori Kersey, September 3, 2012, Charleston Gazette: “While West Virginia officials cut child-care assistance to hundreds of low-income working parents, federal reviews show the state could do better at accessing other federal resources for children. West Virginia receives federal money to care for some children in state custody, often called Title IV-E money after the section of law that defines the program. In three out of the last four federal reviews of the state’s foster care program over a 10-year period, officials found that the state did not substantially comply with eligibility requirements to receive federal assistance. Most recently, in 2011, the state was not in compliance with eligibility requirements and paid over $200,000 back to the federal government…”
