“Sobering Statistics”

Posted by Mary Mancini on August 26, 2005 under Uncategorized |

“Outlook for Children Appears to be Bleak” by Judith R. Tackett (Nashville City Paper)

“The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth began working with some sobering statistics Wednesday as it began developing a Children’s Agenda for the state.

One in five Tennessee children lives in poverty, placing the state at the 40th worst ranking compared to the rest of the nation.

Almost one in three Tennessee high school students does not graduate from high school, with an estimated graduation rate in 2000 of 67.7 percent.

Nearly two of three children (63 percent) placed in secure juvenile detention are children of color even though they make up only 23 percent of Tennessee’s total youth population.

Overall, the state received the 43rd worst ranking in this year’s Kids Count study released in July, which shows that Tennessee has remained stagnant in its overall ranking for the past three years.” Read more…

Stagnant for three years? For more info and to help, go here.