January 5, 2006

North Dakota Ranks Well Nationally in Child Well-being, Yet Areas of Concern Exist

According to the national KIDS COUNT program, North Dakota ranks fifth in the nation regarding child well-being indicators. This high ranking is largely due to low rates in the following areas: birthweight, high school dropouts, children living in single-parent families, and children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment. However, the 2005 “North Dakota KIDS COUNT Fact Book” indicates that, despite the high national ranking, many challenges exist for children and families in the state.

“We need to continuously monitor the health and well-being of our children in order to identify concerns before they become major problems,” says Richard Rathge, North Dakota KIDS COUNT executive director. “We must keep in mind that our children are our future, so we need to create and maintain the best environment for them.”

This month’s edition of the “Population Bulletin,” released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, presents select indicators from the 2005 “North Dakota KIDS COUNT Fact Book,” a publication released annually by the North Dakota KIDS COUNT program. The 2005 edition marks the 11th annual publication produced by the North Dakota KIDS COUNT program. The program is part of a 50-state network founded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to collect information about the status of children in communities across the United States.

Data included in the annual “North Dakota KIDS COUNT Fact Book” covers issues affecting children from birth through adolescence and is widely used by a variety of audiences in planning, needs assessments and grant writing activities on behalf of North Dakota children. “North Dakota KIDS COUNT Fact Book” data offer a road map to better understanding the challenges facing North Dakota children in the communities where they live and quantifying the numbers of children affected by respective areas of concern. This year’s edition presents some important issues concerning the well-being of North Dakota’s children.

• Despite ranking well compared with other states regarding the rate of low-birthweight babies, North Dakota has reported the highest number of low-birthweight babies in nearly 20 years. In 2003, low-birthweight babies totaled 533 statewide. Not since 1985, when North Dakota reported 577 low-birthweight babies, has the state seen this many low-birthweight. Much of the change is due to increases in Cass County beginning in the mid- 1990s.
• Despite ranking well compared with other states regarding the percent of children living in single-parent families, 30,695 children lived with a single parent in North Dakota in 2000, a 23.3 percent increase from 24,886 in 1990. This is cause for concern because the poverty rate for North Dakota children living with one parent (39.4 percent) is nearly six times the rate for children living with two parents (6.9 percent).
• Despite declining school enrollments in North Dakota, Head Start and special education enrollments continue to increase. During the past four years, the number of North Dakota children enrolled in Head Start has increased 11.5 percent and the number of North Dakota children enrolled in special education has increased 7.6 percent. During the same time, average daily enrollment in public schools has decreased by 8.5 percent.

For more information regarding the North Dakota KIDS COUNT findings and highlights, contact Richard Rathge at (701) 231-8621 or by e-mail at richard.rathge@ndsu.edu. Helen Danielson, North Dakota KIDS COUNT coordinator, can be reached at (701) 231-5931 or by e-mail at ndkidscount@yahoo.com. Visit the North Dakota KIDS COUNT Web site at www.ndkidscount.org.

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.edu

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