Reports Ranks Wisconsin 15th for Children’s Well-Being

A report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says Wisconsin ranks 15th among states for child well-being. Some fear that ranking will be worse in the future.

Children’s advocates warn about the state slipping further down in the rankings. One reason is that child poverty in Wisconsin has increased more than twice as fast as the national average between 2005 and 2010. The Annie E. Casey report also measured children’s health. Wisconsin ranked slightly worse in that area, coming in 18th. Bob Jacobson is with the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. He says many of the areas assessed by the national report are linked: “It’s no mystery that families of means are better able to afford health care than families living in poverty. That’s why it’s so critical that we maintain our investment in our excellent BadgerCare program, which is the thing that stood in the way of big increases in the uninsured in Wisconsin at a time when a lot of people were losing their employer sponsored health insurance.”

On a national level, the report shows families have experienced economic setbacks. According to an AP report, upcoming census figures to be released this fall are expected to show economic hardship similar to the 1960s, when President Lyndon Johnson launched the War on Poverty.