Oklahoma remains in bottom 10 for child well-being

Oklahoma children remain in the nation’s bottom 10 when it comes to major health and well-being indicators, according to the 2021 edition of the KIDS COUNT Data Book.

Oklahoma ranks 42nd overall for child well-being. Its individual rankings on major categories and change from last year are:

• 33 rd in economic wellbeing, the same as in 2020.

• 41st in family and community context, down one spot from the previous report.

• 45th in education, up three spots from last year.

• 42nd in health, up seven places from the 2020 report.

The 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book — the most comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the United States — is based on the latest available data for 16 key indicators that include health, education, economic well-being, and family and community.

For the 2021 report, those data are from 2019, so they do not reflect current conditions amidst the COVID-19 crisis. (A December 2020 special KIDS COUNT report provided a snapshot of issues of concern related to the pandemic.)

The release of this year’s report also coincides with the federal government launching a new website and other resources for parents and caregivers eligible for an expanded child tax credit, which will provide critical financial support for families who are struggling to make ends meet and help reduce longstanding disparities that affect families of color.

The Data Book is published annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to assess child well-being. The KIDS COUNT data and rankings, which represent the most recent information available but do not capture the impact of the past year, showed Oklahoma had significant concerns in each of the major categories:

• Economic well-being: In 2019, one in five Oklahoma children (186,000, or 20%) were living in households with an income below the poverty line.

• Education: In 2019, 59,000, or about 57%, of Oklahoma’s young children ages3and4werenotin school.

• Affordable health care: In 2019, 86,000 Oklahoma children — nearly one in ten — did not have health insurance.

• Family and community context: In 2019, 95,000 Oklahoma children lived in high-poverty areas.

“In examining the latest KIDS COUNT report, we can see places where Oklahoma has made some small progress toward child well-being, but on balance, those gains aren’t enough to catch up with the smart investments other states are making to positively influence their children’s well-being,” said Gabrielle Jacobi, OK Policy’s Child Well-Being Policy Analyst and KIDS COUNT Coordinator.

The Data Book shows that simply returning to a pre-pandemic level of support for children and families would shortchange millions of children and fail to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities.