›› 2001 Kids Count Report

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2001 Kids Count national databook, South Carolina ranks 42nd in the well-being of children. South Carolina is just behind North Carolina, Nevada, West Virginia, and Texas, but ahead of Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Previously, South Carolina ranked as low as 45th to 47th during the 1990s. South Carolina's poorest showing in the 2001 report is:

• low birth weight (48th);
• infant mortality (47th);
• births to teens (42nd);
• single-parent families with children (40th);
• child poverty (37th);
• child deaths (36th);
• teen deaths (accidents, homicide, suicide) (33rd).

South Carolina's best rankings are for:

• families without steady jobs (18th);
• idle teens (22nd);
• high school dropouts (23rd).

No one should be willing to accept our ranking in the bottom ten states, a position that has raised concern for the entire decade of national Kids Count data reports. In order for South Carolina to progress above the bottom 10 states in the overall ranking, we would have to achieve one or more of the following improvements to the national average (as displayed in the What Will It Take To Improve South Carolina's Rankings?):

• preventing 129 infant deaths would improve our overall ranking to 41st. This is only 3 infant deaths per county.
• preventing 186 deaths of infants, children and teens would improve our ranking to 36th. This is only 4 deaths per county.
• preventing 186 deaths of infants, children, and teens, plus 1,026 low weight births, and 1,128 teen pregnancies would improve our ranking to 32nd. Per county, this is only 4 infant, child, and teen deaths, 22 low weight births, and 25 teen pregnancies.

Reducing one child death per county or one teen death per two counties is definitely possible. Preventing three infant deaths per county also seems quite feasible. Even reducing 22 low weight births or 25 teen pregnancies per county to reach the national average is practical enough if people decide to work on making it happen.

Improving our ranking to the overall national median (25th) would be more difficult but could be achieved if the first 5 indicators below were reduced as shown (moving South Carolina to 32nd) and if some progress were made in reducing single-parent families and poverty:

• 20 teen deaths (accident, homicide, suicide)
• 37 child deaths
• 129 infant deaths
• 1,026 low birth weight babies
• 1,128 births to teens
• 9,609 families with children headed by a single parent
• 58,930 children in poor families

Reducing the number of children in single-parent families by 9,609 (210 per county) and child poverty by 58,930 (1,280 per county) seems difficult, but some improvement in the marital status, employment, and income of families with children can be accomplished if we try harder.

"Instead of chanting the 'it's so awful' refrain every year, let's get to work and show that we can treat our children as well as or better than the other states," said Baron Holmes, South Carolina Kids Count Project Director. "Looking better compared with other states is not the purpose. Saving the lives and securing the futures of our children is our responsibility as caring, responsible adults."