Study: Economy hurting children

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.comTimes Leader Staff Writer

The lingering recession has had a major impact on people across Pennsylvania, but a study released today by a national charitable organization shows that children are bearing the brunt of the weak economy.

According to data contained in the annual Kids Count Data Book, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Pennsylvania fared worse in several categories, including: percent of low birth weight babies (up 8 percent), infant mortality rate (up 7 percent), percent of children in poverty (up 13 percent) and percent of children in single parent families (up 10 percent). However, the state’s overall ranking, when factoring in 10 key indicators, improved from 23rd to 20th among the 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

Pennsylvania did see improvements in some categories, including child death rate (down 10 percent), teen birth rate (down 9 percent), teen death rate (down 2 percent) and child death rate for youth ages 1 to 14 (down 10 percent).

The base year for those comparisons was 2000; the current figures were the latest available, ranging from 2007 to 2010. Data sources included the Census Bureau and various national and state agencies and organizations.

Troubling to some experts is that the report indicates a year-to-year growth in the percentage of teens not in school and not working, from 6 percent to 8 percent. More than 21 percent, or about 35,000, of Pennsylvania’s teenagers failed to graduate with their class in 2010, according to Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a non-partisan, non-profit health and education advocacy group based in Harrisburg.

High school dropouts are more than twice as likely to be unemployed and three and a half more times as likely to live in poverty than someone with a high school credential plus some postsecondary education or an associate’s degree, according to the group.

Gerald Fallabel, director of ResCare Workforce Services, a project funded by the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment Board that provides a general equivalency diploma program and job readiness workshops to disadvantaged in-school and out-of-school youths between 17 to 21, said he sees those statistics every day and hears the stories tied to the data.

He said that with high unemployment rates and more families living in poverty, many children grow up with an attitude of “What’s the point?”

“More and more kids are from dysfunctional families. Kids cut school, deal drugs, get pregnant. They make a bunch of mistakes,” Fallabel said. He said he hears from youth who say their parents can’t get a job and they have the impression that even with a diploma or a degree a job is no guarantee of finding work.

“I guess they don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said, adding he tries to get the message out that without a diploma, their future will suffer.

The report looks at 10 indicators that analysts use to determine a snapshot of child health and well-being nationwide and state-by-state. This year’s data book takes a closer look at how the nation’s children and families are faring in the wake of the economic downturn that’s now in its third year. It examines the impact of the foreclosure crisis on children and looks at the number of households with at least one unemployed parent.

Among the study’s findings are that 29 percent of children in Pennsylvania live in households in which no parent held a full-time, year-round job in 2009, the most recent full-year data available. The national average was 31 percent. Pennsylvania ranked 19th in that category.

The state also fared relatively well compared to other states when it came to the percentage of children in poverty. Pennsylvania’s 17 percent rate was below the 20 percent national average and ranked 18th. But it was an increase over the previous year’s figure of 15 percent. The percentage of children in single-parent families -- 32 percent -- rose from 29 percent, but the state ranked below the national average of 34 percent.

Joseph DeVizia, executive director of the Luzerne County Office of Human Services, said living in poverty has implications on multiple facets of a child’s development and the economy and high unemployment rate locally and statewide are making matters worse. While the report shows that the teen birth rate in the state has dropped, he said he has heard the opposite from local organizations that handle teen pregnancy and family planning.

He said the issue of “kids raising kids” is not uncommon locally, posing risks to parents and children.

“For every step forward for kids, there’s been a step backward,” said Joan L Benso, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. “We know Pennsylvania children and families continue to feel the effects of the recession.”

The foundation is dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States, according to its website, www.aecf.org. The report does not include numbers at the regional or county level.