Unless South Carolina leaders change how they do things, we’re going to stay on the bottom of the lists that we should be on the top of, or at least in the middle, compared to other states.
That came clear again late last month when the annual Kids Count report showed that the Palmetto State dropped from 43rd to 45th from the top overall in its rank for the well-being of children who grow up here.
That’s not to say that South Carolina doesn’t make progress and that children may have it a lot better off than kids did 40 years ago. Schools certainly are better, not only because most are air-conditioned but because the curriculum is better, teachers are better, and students have more tools, such as computers. Economic well-being is better because the poor have more safety nets today than they did four decades ago, despite a decade of cuts.
In one sense, it’s unclear whether child health is really better because of the predominance of junk food, empty calories, and lack of activity around many homes. But at least teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates have been dropping of late, which indicates positive change. And, people in South Carolina have access to a lot more sophisticated medicines, research and tools, such as MRIs, than they did a half century ago.
So the story isn’t all bad when you look at how South Carolina is compared to many years ago. But the state’s dysfunction shows up when you compare it to how other states are doing. That’s because just as we are working hard to make improvements, we often forget this: The other states are trying to improve too. And while we all get better, South Carolina still lags at the bottom, a modern reflection of the hangover of a century of neglect of the South after the Civil War.
Sue Williams, chief executive officer of the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, explains it simply: “Until we can get that sustained commitment [for real change], we keep treading water.”
It takes a strategy, leadership, and a lot of money to fund change that will help children. For example, South Carolina didn’t become a leading manufacturing state overnight. It did so because successive governors and legislatures invested in the technical education system for decades to provide better job skills for unskilled workers who had only known textile mills or farming. That’s the kind of commitment it is going to take to get South Carolina off the national dime and move ahead in rankings like those offered in the four criteria measured by Kids Count:
Economic Well-Being: South Carolina dropped from 34th nationally to 44th nationally from 2012 to 2013 as the number of children in poverty increased to 297,000, children living in households that spend more than 30 percent on housing grew to 395,000 and teens from 16 to 19 not attending school or working grew to 30,000.
“Growing up in poverty is one of the greatest threats to healthy child development,” the Kids Count report noted. “Poverty and financial stress can impede children’s cognitive development and their ability to learn.” (Note: The data considered in the Kids Count report is lagging, in that it does not reflect 2013 conditions, but those in 2011. Williams noted that the state’s recent success, spearheaded by Gov. Nikki Haley, to bring more jobs here may help turn around this ranking to “provide the relief and financial security our families and children need.”)
Education: The state’s rank dropped by one position to 41st. While there are more children attending preschool and increased reading and math proficiencies among some students, South Carolina is being outpaced by other states. In other words, we’re falling behind more.
Health: South Carolina dropped four slots to 44th in the country despite making progress in having fewer low birthweight babies, kids without health insurance, child deaths and teens who abused alcohol or drugs. Again, other states outpaced our improvements, which lowered our ranking
Family and Community: Our rank stayed even at 43rd, but we have to note that more kids live in high-poverty areas and grow up in single-family homes.
Bottom Line: Our state leaders must craft a bold vision for South Carolina that stops saddling children with conditions that cripple their future. To get off of the bottom of lists, we have to exponential progress, not incremental change.
Andy Brack is publisher of Statehouse Report. He can be reached at brack@statehousereport.com. Learn more about the Kids Count rankings online at: http://datacenter.kidscount.org
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