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Minnesota ranked 5th in country for child well-being, according to pandemic-era data [1]
['Michelle Griffith', 'More From Author', '- June']
Date: 2023-06
Minnesota ranked fifth among states for child well-being, according to a national report released on Wednesday. Minnesota ranked 18th in education, however, meaning the state has a long way to go before it becomes the best state in which to raise a child — an ambitious goal Gov. Tim Walz and DFL lawmakers proclaimed at the outset of the recent legislative session.
The annual report, the Kids Count Data Book, ranks states by the well-being of their children based on benchmarks like health, education and family and community. This year it included 2021 data — giving states a look at how children fared during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walz and DFL leaders this session passed a $72 billion budget that includes $1 billion for housing, $2.2 billion extra money for K-12 education and a child tax credit that could reduce childhood poverty by one-third.
According to the 2021 Kids Count data, 11% of Minnesota children lived in poverty, and 23% of children had parents who lacked secure employment.
Debra Fitzpatrick, policy and research director with Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota, said the data looks at the state as a whole, but Minnesota has distinct opportunity gaps based primarily on race that aren’t analyzed in the report.
“I think while we’re doing really well overall, I think it really sticks out that we rank so much lower in the education category,” Fitzpatrick said.
From 2019 to 2022, the percentage of Minnesota fourth-graders who were not proficient in reading rose from 62% to 68%, according to the report. During the same years the percentage of eighth-graders not proficient in math rose from 56% to 68%.
Fitzpatrick said Minnesota’s mediocre education rates and opportunity gaps start with a lack of access to child care and early education.
“We invest so much less in the earliest years of children’s lives, even though 80% of brain development is happening in those first three years,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve made some historic progress this year, but we’re still a long way from being where we need to be.”
In an attempt to address the lack of child care and early education in Minnesota, this session Walz signed a law with $300 million in new spending on early childhood education, scholarships and other programs that prepare young children for school. Over $250 million will go to the state’s early learning scholarships program, which is targeted at 3- and 4-year-olds. Head Start and the Child Care Assistance Program also received extra funding.
The new education law also permanently funds 4,000 pre-K slots — they were previously temporary — and added temporary funds for another 5,200 new slots.
House Speaker Melissa Hortman said in an interview with the Reformer that the Legislature’s investment in early education is her proudest legislative achievement. Hortman said securing more pre-K slots was among the things she’s been advocating for the longest in her 20-year legislative tenure.
“This year, we’ve invested big in little kids,” Hortman said.
Fitzpatrick also noted that because the data is dated, it doesn’t reflect the number of provisions passed by the Legislature that are intended to boost childhood well-being, including paid family medical leave, funding for new affordable housing and universal free school meals.
“To me, it’s really exciting that (the Legislature) didn’t waste this opportunity, and we did some really important, bold things that could make major changes in people’s lives over the long term,” Fitzpatrick said.
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[1] Url:
https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/minnesota-ranked-5th-in-country-for-child-well-being-according-to-pandemic-era-data/
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