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While Improving, Kentucky Children of Color Still Face Disparate Outcomes that Jeopardize Their Well-Being into Adulthood

2024 Race for Results Report Identifies Gaps in Child Well-Being That Persist Across Race and Ethnicity, Caused by Policy Choices That Shortchange Young People

LOUISVILLE, KY — Despite improved outcomes for many key measures, Kentucky children, especially kids of color, still face too many barriers to reaching essential milestones of well-being, according to Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2024 Race for Results report. However, those results are in the context of a nationwide failure to equip all children to succeed, with policy choices and lack of support for families resulting in particularly worse outcomes for Black and Latino children.

“All kids deserve to grow up healthy and safe and ready for adulthood. Yet, that is not the reality for too many Kentucky kids,” said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, Kentucky’s member of the KIDS COUNT network. “The latest Race for Results report shares that every racial/ethnic group measured is faring worse in Kentucky compared to the nation as a whole. And when young people miss critical developmental milestones, they fall even further behind. We must do better for all of our children.”

The Race for Results index standardizes scores across 12 indicators that represent well-being milestones from cradle to career, converting them into a scale ranging from 0 to 1,000 to make it easy to compare and see differences across states and racial and ethnic groups. Indicators are grouped into four areas: early childhood, education and early work experiences, family resources, and neighborhood context. In Kentucky, Asian and Pacific Islander (667) and White (575) children have the highest index score, followed by children of two or more races (501). Scores for Latino (412) and Black (341) children are considerably lower.

Since the baseline however, the report shows that Black children in Kentucky experienced improvement in 10 indicators, Latino children in seven indicators, and children of two or more races in nine indicators. Those children of color still fall behind in well-being outcomes compared to their White and Asian/Pacific Islander peers.

Key trends for Kentucky children:

  • Reading and math scores tumbled during the pandemic. In 2022, less than a third of all fourth graders were proficient in reading. The figure was about one in six for Black children (15%), one in five for Latino children (22%), and just over one in four (28%) for children of two or more races, compared to one in three (34%) for White children and two in five (41%) for Asian and Pacific Islander children.
  • On poverty, between 2007–11 and 2017–21, there were gains among nearly every racial/ethnic group, but too many families still struggle to make ends meet. Nearly two-thirds of Black (65%) and Latino (61%) kids live below 200% of the federal poverty level, compared to just over one-third of White (39%) and Asian and Pacific Islander (37%) children.
  • Research shows high-quality early care and education programs set the stage for future skills development, well-being, and learning — particularly for those from low-income households. Yet, children ages 3 to 5 of nearly all races and ethnicities experienced worsening rates of enrollment in nursery school, preschool, or kindergarten compared to the baseline data with an overall rate of 52% enrollment for 2017-21 compared to 57% for 2007-11.
  • Being born at a weight of at least 5.5 pounds helps a child get a healthy start in life. While there are improvements for most racial/ethnic groups, the rate of Latino babies born at normal birthweight worsened over the last five years and the rate of Black babies remains lower than other races and ethnicities (85%).
  • There are several bright spots that show data trends heading in the right direction. Rates of young adults of nearly all races and ethnicities who have completed an associate’s degree or higher and who are in school or working improved.

The Casey Foundation introduced the Race for Results index in a 2014 report and updated it in 2017. This third edition of the report carries data from the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that demonstrate both the urgency of ensuring all children can thrive and the promise of policy prescriptions for achieving that goal. Race for Results contends that young people are missing critical developmental milestones as a direct result of choices to not invest in policies, programs, and services that support children, especially in under-resourced communities and communities of color.

“Equity can permeate political speeches and campaigns. Equity can be the focus of task forces and commissions. But achieving real equity demands real action. This report is filled with opportunities for the General Assembly, the Executive Branch, professionals who support families, and local leaders to take deliberate and focused actions so that all of our kids have a real shot at a thriving childhood and successful adulthood,” asserted Brooks. “The only real question is whether the left behind will instead be lifted up?”

Based on the Casey Foundation’s Race for Results report, Kentucky Youth Advocates has several recommendations toward improving outcomes for all children:

  • Congress can expand the federal child tax credit and build off the impact of the temporary, pandemic-era expansion of the CTC, which benefited nearly one million Kentucky children, including over 200,000 children of color, and reduced child poverty by an estimated 44% in Kentucky.
  • Congress and the Kentucky General Assembly can expand the earned income tax credit so more families can keep their hard-earned income and support their children’s ability to thrive.
  • Policymakers must create targeted programs and policies that can close well-being gaps for young people of color, especially to improve stark disparities in maternal health outcomes and K-12 student achievement, as well as improved access to child care supports and mental health services.

The 2024 Race for Results report is available at www.aecf.org.

ABOUT KENTUCKY YOUTH ADVOCATES
Kentucky Youth Advocates believes all children deserve to be safe, healthy, and secure. As THE independent voice for Kentucky’s children, we work to ensure policymakers create investments and policies that are good for children. Learn more at www.kyyouth.org.

ABOUT THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION

The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. Race for Results® is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.