Tennessee ranks 46th in overall child well-being

For children born in Tennessee, the news is not promising.

The state ranks 46th in the nation for overall child well-being, slipping three spots from its 43rd place national ranking last year. The information was released yesterday in the annual Kids Count study.

For folks who like to hear the good news first, Tennessee has improved more than the national average in its teen death rate and now ranks 32nd, up from 42nd last year.

Accidents are the leading cause of death for adolescents, and motor vehicle crashes are the most frequent fatal accidents. State officials attribute changes in public policy to the drop in teen deaths.

?Some of the policies the state has adopted concerning bicycle helmets, life preservers, child restraints, and graduated driver?s licenses have contributed to these improvements,? said Pam Brown, a spokesperson with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.

The graduated driver?s licenses restrict the hours of operation for young drivers and the number of passengers they can have in their vehicle. Bike helmets and life preservers are now mandatory, and children must use a car seat or booster seat until they are 49 inches tall.

Unfortunately, the good news doesn?t last long. When it comes to infant mortality rate, Tennessee is tied with Louisiana at 47th, leaving only Mississippi and Delaware with worse rates than Tennessee.

The state ranks 45th in its high school dropout rate, and 36th for percentage of children under 6 living in poverty.

?We?re not looking too good,? said Kathy Daniels, a spokesperson for the Upper Cumberland region.

?Tennessee is not a really healthy state for children and families,? added Daniels.

Low birth weight is one of the leading causes of infant mortality. That can result from several factors ? no prenatal care, smoking, and giving birth after age 40. Health officials also cited a significant difference in infant mortality rates between white and black babies.

The infant mortality rate for white babies in Tennessee is 6.4 per 1,000 births. The rate for black babies is 17.4 per 1,000 births.

?That?s quite a difference,? said Brown.

When it comes to the high school dropout rate, Tennessee actually remained stagnant at 11 percent. But because so many other states made dramatic strides in reducing the number of high school dropouts, Tennessee plummeted from 30th to 45th.

On most measures, Tennessee students scored below basic reading and math levels.

Within the state, the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth is in the process of releasing a county-by-county breakdown of the Kids Count study. That breakdown is expected in about three weeks.

Unhappy state

Tennessee lags behind other states in child well-being:
? Infant mortality rate 47th
? High school dropouts 45th
? Single-parent families 37th
? Children in poverty 36th
? Teen death rate 32nd