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Kansas Holds Steady In Kids Count Rankings, But Poverty Numbers Concerning

KHI.org/Annie E. Casey Foundation

An annual survey that charts the well-being of children in the state shows that Kansas is making progress in some areas but is falling behind in others. Heartland Health Monitor’s Jim McLean has more on the Kids Count rankings.

Kansas retained its overall ranking of 15th in this year’s Kids Count rankings compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The state improved on four key measures of child health. But those improvements were blunted by a drop in measures of economic well-being.

The Kids Count rankings are distributed by Kansas Action for Children. Shannon Cotsoradis, president and CEO of the nonprofit advocacy organization, says the drop in the state’s child poverty ranking shows that Kansas kids are “stuck in a recession-era quality of life.”

Cotsoradis says the income tax cuts passed at Gov. Sam Brownback’s urging in 2012 have created a budget crisis. And she says that has prevented the state from returning its investment in child welfare programs to pre-recession levels.

Read more about the Kids Count rankings at Kansas Health Insitute News Service.

Jim McLean is a reporter with Heartland Health Monitor.