Study says Nevada children suffer

Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998 | 9:27 a.m.

"Nevada Kids Count Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being" has ranks the state 34th among the rest of the country in social, economic, physical and the educational well-being of children.

The report says Nevada state has the highest high school dropout rate in the nation, ranked 42nd for the number of teen births, and had a 49 percent increase in violent crimes involving juveniles from 1995 to 1997.

On the positive side, the infant mortality rate in Nevada's 17 counties was down 33 percent from 1985 to 1995, giving the state a ranking of fourth in the nation.

Nevada Kids Count is a national survey funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Its mission is to track the status of children in America and advocate changes in public policy.

Nevada began participating in 1996, the last state to do such a survey. The survey said the statewide child population, ages 19 and under, was 510,263 in 1997.

Information for Nevada Kids Count was compiled by WE CAN Inc., a state nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing child abuse; the UNLV Center of Business and Economic Research; the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension; and the Nevada State Title IV-B Family Preservation and Support Committee.