New Jersey Ranks Among Best For Overall Child Well-Being

NEW JERSEY — Nearly 12 million children in New Jersey and other states were living in poverty before the pandemic. Their overall well-being has improved over the years, but the pandemic could potentially wipe out more than a decade of progress, a new report said.

New Jersey families with kids were among those that have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The foundation that works to improve child well-being across the United States is now calling on state governments to take "bold action" to help parents care for their children.

If they don't, nearly a decade of progress since the Great Recession could be erased, researchers concluded.

How New Jersey Fared

To determine the overall well-being of children in New Jersey, the foundation analyzed the latest federal data for 16 different indicators across four categories: economic well-being, education, health and family and community.

This year’s assessment was compiled using mostly pre-pandemic data, researchers said.

New Jersey ranked among the best for overall child well-being this year. Our state ranked six out of the 50 on this year’s list.

According to the foundation's data, fewer New Jersey households lacked confidence that they would be able to make their next rent or mortgage payment on time, dropping from 25 percent in 2020 to 19 percent in 2021.

However, data from 2020 also shows the inequities that were worsened by the pandemic, according to the Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ).

In 2020, 21 percent of adults in New Jersey’s households with children reported feeling down, depressed or hopeless. By March 2021, this figure had improved slightly to 20 percent.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed gaps in our social safety net that New Jersey's families have faced for a long time," states Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of ACNJ, the New Jersey grantee for the KIDS COUNT network. “While we have made strides in areas such as health care access and preschool expansion, the data collected during the pandemic show the areas that will require additional attention in order to ensure that New Jersey’s children are fully supported into adulthood."

Here's a look at how children in New Jersey fared in other areas:

Economic Well-Being

• 12%: The number of children in poverty.
• 22%: The number of children whose parents lack secure employment.
• 34%: Children living in households with a high housing burden.
• 6%: Teens not in school and not working.

Education

• 35%: Young children not in school.
• 58%: Fourth graders not proficient in reading.
• 56%: Eighth graders not proficient in math.
• 9%: High school students not graduating on time.

Health

• 7.9%: Low birth weight babies.
• 4%: Children without health insurance.
• 17: Child and teen deaths per 100,000.
• 32%: Children and teens who are overweight or obese.

Family And Communities

• 30%: Children in single-parent families.
• 9%: Children in families where the head of household lacks a high school diploma.
• 7%: Children living in high-poverty areas.
• 10: Teen births per 1,000.

Overall, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Vermont and Utah ranked the highest for child well-being.

Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi were in the bottom five.

What Can Be Done

Encouraging trends in child well-being have emerged over the past decade. Nationwide, improvements were made in 11 out of 16 indicators. More parents were economically secure and lived without a high housing cost burden, and more teens graduated from high school and delayed having children.

The pandemic is likely to disrupt that momentum, researchers said.

In a December report, the foundation examined how adults with children fared during COVID-19. Researchers also looked at how federal and state governments supported families and children during the pandemic.

Researchers learned the pandemic affected everything from food to housing insecurity to health concerns.

At the time, the foundation called on lawmakers to do more to help families with children achieve financial stability. The 2021 Kids Count Data Book echoed that call.

"The COVID-19 crisis has brought many families to the breaking point, especially parents and caregivers who have lost jobs and income," Lisa Hamilton, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said in the report.

To remedy some of the growing disparities caused by the pandemic, the foundation called on lawmakers to make permanent the newly expanded child tax credit, which would provide advance monthly payments to most families of $250 to $300 per child. Starting in July and continuing through December, most parents with children under 18 will receive these payments through direct deposit

"Making the expanded child tax credit permanent will continue providing critical financial support for families who are struggling to make ends meet and help reduce long-standing disparities that affect millions of families of color," Hamilton said.

Read or download the full 2021 Kids Count Data Book.