Date: Fri 28-May-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

children-state-rank

Full Text:

Study: Connecticut Ranks 12th Nationally In Well-Being Of Children

By Diane Scarponi

Associated Press

HARTFORD -- While Connecticut's children are better off than those in most

other states, more of them are living in poverty and in single-parent

families, according to a new study,

The welfare of Connecticut's children was ranked 12th best in the country,

according to the study released last week by Kids Count, a project of the

Annie E. Casey Foundation. But in a 1990 survey, the private children's

charity ranked Connecticut second best overall.

The survey looked at 10 factors: child poverty, single-parent households,

underemployment, teen delinquency, high-school dropouts, teen pregnancy, teen

deaths, child deaths, infant mortality and low birth-weight babies.

"Connecticut's gotten demonstrably worse on half of them in a 10-year period,"

said Paul Gionfriddo, executive director of the Connecticut Association for

Human Services, which runs local projects through the Casey Foundation.

The study showed more Connecticut children are living in poverty, even though

the state continues to have the highest per-capita income in the country.

Between 1985 and 1996, the percentage of Connecticut children in poverty

increased 42 percent, while the nation as a whole saw a 5 percent decrease.

However, the study showed that 17 percent of Connecticut children are living

in poverty, compared with 20 percent nationwide.

Gionfriddo said the cause for the increase has bedeviled child advocates.

Economic problems or the unemployment rate of past years cannot be the most

significant cause of the increase, because neighboring states that went

through similar bad times have not seen the same result.

The cause of child poverty also is linked to a change in the state's economy

from well-paying manufacturing jobs with benefits and overtime wages to

lesser-paying service jobs that offer no benefits, said Janice Gruendel,

executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children.

"If you were making $20 an hour and now you're making $6 an hour, you and your

children are going to be living in poverty," she said.

Connecticut also lost ground on some factors that may be related to poverty.

The percentage of single-parent families increased from 21 percent in 1985 to

27 percent in 1996 -- earning the state a rank of 27th in the country on the

issue.

Also, the percentage of children living with parents who do not have

full-time, year-round jobs increased two percentage points in Connecticut

while it declined nationwide.

Rep Mary Mushinsky, co-chairman of the Legislature's Select Committee on

Children, said single-parent families and a shortage of affordable housing are

big factors in child poverty.

A mother trying to raise children on her own, may be able to work only one

minimum-wage job as she cares for her family and tries to get a better

education, said Mushinsky, D-Wallingford.

"One minimum-wage salary's not enough to pay for rent. Without subsidized

rentals for a person like that, they're really stuck," she said.

At the time of the study, an epidemic of crack and cocaine use took its toll

on many families, she said.

Connecticut ranked second best in the nation when it comes to high school

dropouts, with 5 percent of teens dropping out compared with 10 percent

nationwide.

While the average dropout rate is very low, it is much higher in the cities

and in poor communities, Gionfriddo said.

Overall, four of the five other New England states ranked higher than

Connecticut in the study. Rhode Island ranked 17th and New York ranked 33rd.