LIFE

Kids Count: More TN children in poverty than during recession

Macaela J Bennett
mbennett@tennessean.com
Twenty-seven percent of children are living in poverty in Tennessee.

The number of Tennessee children living in poverty is continuing to increase and more than a third of children are living with insecurely employed-parents, both of which reflect national trends that the economic recovery is uneven for low-income families.

This comes from annual Kids Count data published Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The child advocacy agency’s report for Tennessee shows that 27 percent of children are living in poverty, which is a 5 percent increase from 2008 and more than the amount of children living in poverty during the Great Recession.

"Two of the four Economic Well-Being indicators got worse, showing that families with children have not fully recovered from the deep recession, despite being several years into the recovery," the report stated. "Although still not back up to their pre-recession rates, most economic indicators have improved since 2010."

Other areas that have worsened since last year include the number of children not attending preschool, 61 percent, and those living in single-parent households, 38 percent.

Despite those gloomy findings, Tennessee's ranking for overall child well-being stayed consistent with last year's, coming in at 36th.

Bright spots in the report were that seven of the eight categories in children's education and health are showing significant improvements.

The state ranks 20th for the number of high school students who graduate on time — only 17 percent who do not — and Tennessee is tied with 15 states for having the lowest percentage of students who abuse alcohol or drugs. Kids Count attributes this to hefty preventative efforts statewide.

Nationwide, the report points out that this year portrays a record-low in teen births and educational achievement and children's health and safety are showing consistent improvement. But, a discrepancy in how families are experiencing economic improvements remains in Tennessee and across the nation, according to the Kids Count report.

"The gulf continues to widen between children growing up in strong, economically secure families that are embedded in thriving communities and children who are not."