The KIDS COUNT: The State of the Child in Tennessee 2016 report released recently by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) focuses on the importance of preventing and responding appropriately to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), current ACEs data for Tennessee, and also ranks counties on child well-being.
“Research demonstrates adverse childhood experiences can disrupt brain development, especially in young children,” said Linda O’Neal, TCCY executive director, “and present lifelong challenges for success in school, relationships, employment, and health across the lifespan.”
The original ACEs study focused on child abuse and neglect and family dysfunction, and revealed the prevalence of these conditions, even in families that appear to be prospering. It demonstrated people with more ACEs were more likely to face health and mental health challenges.
This report includes the most recent data on ACEs in Tennessee from the Department of Health Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
County Rankings
The old real estate rule of “location, location, location,” is also true for the well-being of children, according to data in the report showing the overall well-being of children varies according where they live.
DeKalb County ranked 76 overall in the study, with one being the best, and 100 the worst.
Scoring high in economic well-being, DeKalb County’s median household income ranked 32 at $43,804 and education with a high school graduation rate of 98 percent, putting DCHS 13th.
“We’re excited about our graduation rate,” said DCHS principal Randy Jennings. “We continue to make improvements, not to just our graduation rate but our entire academic program to make the most impact on our student’s quality of education.”
DeKalb County scored poorly in reported cases of child abuse. With 341 reported cases, DeKalb County’s 8.2 percent rate is almost twice as high as that of the rest of Tennessee which averages 4.8 percent or 92 in the state.
In the category of health, DeKalb had another low score with a 91 in children without health insurance, with 5.8 percent of the total child population doing without. Interestingly, DeKalb County also fared poorly, ranking 90 in children qualified for Medicaid but uninsured with 5.4 percent of children falling into this category.
For purposes of percentages, the study has DeKalb County at a population of 19,190 with 4,176 below the age of 18.
Research shows children with the same risk factors fare differently on issues like educational success, life expectancy and economic mobility based on their neighborhood.
The child well-being rankings for the Tennessee counties in KIDS COUNT: The State of the Child in Tennessee report the range of outcomes from Williamson County, which ranked the best, to Shelby County, where children face the most obstacles.
“Where children live can have a substantial impact on the trajectory of their lives,” added O’Neal, “and supportive, nurturing communities and good public policies can be instrumental in helping overcome poverty, adversity and other challenging circumstances.”
Child poverty, one of the measures comprising the economic well-being domain, varies greatly, with one in 20 children in Williamson County living in poverty while nearly half the children in Lake County do. Only a little more than three of every four students in Sequatchie and Shelby counties graduated from high school on time compared to Lauderdale County, which had nearly every student graduate (99.1 percent).
Many of the better-ranking counties surround Nashville or are in West Tennessee. Williamson County, in addition to ranking best overall, ranked best in three of the domains: economic well-being, education and family & community. Weakley County in West Tennessee ranked second overall and best in the health domain.
Washington County scored best in East Tennessee at ninth. The counties with the highest levels of child well-being were Williamson, Weakley, Wilson, Rutherford and Sumner. Counties where child well-being was most challenged were Shelby, Lake, Union, Clay and Sequatchie.
