Number of kids threatened by poverty declines

Ed Koch and Mathis Winkler

Thursday, March 7, 2002 | 10:51 a.m.

The booming economy of the past decade helped Nevada reduce by 20 percent the number of children at high risk of living in poverty, according to a local analyst and a national study released today.

The study by Kids Count, a national advocacy group focusing on children's issues and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranked Nevada in a tie for fifth with Maine, New Jersey and Wisconsin in improving conditions for children. The national average of high risk children dropped just 8 percent, compared with 20 percent in those states.

"The decade of the 1990s was stellar, and we improved economically better than we ever had expected to improve," said Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "A very good economy meant more jobs" and helped reduce the number of people facing poverty.

Kids Count defines high-risk children as those from families with incomes below the poverty line; homes run by a single parent; households in which parents do not have full-time, year-round employment; and families headed by a high school dropout.

The study, "Children at Risk: State Trends 1990-2000," found that 8 percent of Nevada's children in 2000 were living in high-risk families; that's down from 10 percent in 1990 and, overall, a 20 percent decrease when factoring in population growth, the study said.

Minnesota led all states by reducing the number of at-risk children by 38 percent, the study said. Alaska ranked worst in that category, with an increase of 75 percent. Twenty-six states had decreases in children who were at high risk, and 13 states had no change. Nine states and Washington, D.C., which was not ranked, had increases in children at high risk, the survey said.

The report had conflicting findings on high school dropouts in Nevada. While there was a 13 percent decrease in the number of 16- to 19-year-old dropouts in the state, compared to an 8 percent dip nationwide, the survey found an 8 percent increase of Nevada dropouts were not working, compared to a 10 percent decline nationwide.

Clark County School District Superintendent Carlos Garcia said it was "especially rewarding" to see that the state's high school dropout rates declined more than those nationwide, but he was concerned about the rise of teenagers who don't attend schools and don't work.

The report also noted a 100 percent increase of Nevada children ages 5-17 who have difficulty speaking English, compared with a 20 percent hike nationwide. Garcia said that huge rise supports the School District's findings that the need for English-as-a-second-language services is expected to grow by 14 percent annually.