Bad news for kids
Published on 6/24/2008
An annual report on children's well-being again ranks South Carolina one of the worst states in the country for young people. Georgetown County ranks 22nd among the state's 46 counties in the annual report of the Annie E. Casey Foundation called Kids Count.
The data on families, economic status, health, readiness, school achievement and adolescent risk behaviors provide a troublesome picture of the condition of children in Georgetown County, says the report.
Here are the county's numbers:
* 33.1 percent of children live in single-parent families;
* 26 percent are living in poverty;
* 31.4 percent are not graduating from high school;
* 41.7 percent of high school students are using alcohol and 19.6 percent are using drugs each month;
* and 22 percent of middle school students report they have engaged in sexual intercourse. Among eighth-graders, 22 percent of boys and 9 percent of girls reported having had intercourse with three or more people.
Other data profiled in the Kids Count report suggests that too many children are at risk of not growing up to become self-supporting adults, good family members and responsible community citizens.
Statewide, the report says, problems for many children begin before they are born. Poor prenatal care for 26 percent of the state's mothers lead to health risks for newborns; 40 percent of the babies born in South Carolina are born to single mothers; 19 percent of children live in poverty; 14 percent of first-graders are assessed as not ready for class; and 13 percent repeat one of the first three grades.
A poor start in school leads to 33 percent of 10th-graders failing one or more parts of the Exit Exam on their first attempt and 32 percent of children not graduating from high school.
Children represent a shrinking portion of Georgetown County's population, even though the percentages living in poverty and practicing risky behavior remain disturbing. Children under 18 constituted 22.5 percent of the population in 2005, down from 49.5 percent in 1960, 42.9 percent in 1970 and 34.3 percent in 1980.
Over the years, the report has made the same observation: In order for South Carolina to be competitive in the future world economy, children must reach adulthood well-educated, hardworking and responsible. Too many children, especially those who are poor and disadvantaged, are not growing up with these strengths. Just to reach the U.S. average for health, economic, family and safety risks at birth, South Carolina's children would have to improve more than 20 percent.
While these challenges appear formidable, there are efforts under way to turn things around. There are opportunities for children -- preschool to high school -- today that did not exist just a few years ago.
The big job begins with the salvaging of a single at-risk child.
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I was a single parent when my daughter was 3-11 years old. To help to fill in for her absent father I made a commitment to be a member of a church that had an active youth program. I enrolled her in Family Y programs and she was a Brownie Scout for two years. She went to public schools but attended supplemental programs and special camps like equestrian camp, ski school, and oceanography camp. I had to make a point of remaining family oriented throughout her childhood in order to meet her needs as well as possible. I was more than rewarded when she called to tell me that she was accepted into physical therapy school. She would be able to make it on her own--the same career as her mother!! I made it thru by establishing a church family and utilizing community resources as much as possible. We just kept on reaching up. Posted by Sue Ryan on 7/4/2008
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