By CAITY COYNE, HD Media
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — While West Virginia’s children are faring better in two categories this year — health and family and community — the state’s overall ranking of child well-being dropped this year, from 40th last year to 43rd, according to the 2019 Kids Count Data Book, released today.
The national data book, released by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, uses 16 factors spread across health, family and community, economics and education to determine the well-being of children in each state.
The state’s rankings for economic well-being and education dropped this year, from 47th to 48th and 39th to 43rd, respectively, which wasn’t a surprise for Tricia Kingery, executive director of West Virginia Kids Count.
“We know, the environment here, it’s having an effect on our children. We can see the effects of economic downturns, and the effects of the opioid epidemic. Now, we have to figure out what that means for our children, moving forward,” Kingery said.
This year’s report also collected county-level data for all the national categories, as well as 13 factors listed as emerging well-being indicators, specifically tailored to trends and issues in West Virginia. …
