INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana ranks in the bottom half of the United States for child well-being, according to the annual report from the Indiana Youth Institute. The information collected in the KIDS COUNT data book includes 240 pages of statistics, graphs and charts tracking the data that impacts Hoosier children.
The report ranks Indiana 29th nationally for overall child well-being for the third straight year. The Indiana Youth Institute summarized the comprehensive data for policymakers and child advocates gathered in the Indiana senate chambers Tuesday.
The report is broken down into four categories: health, education, economic well-being, and family and community.
Indiana ranks worst in health, 36th nationally and worst among bordering states. This ranking includes issues like infant mortality, obesity, kids without health insurance and child death rates.
"So, we really need to take this to heart and say, 'How do we lean in and really focus on the health and well-being?' And so that's physical health, but it's also emotional and social well-being of our kids,” said Dr. Tami Silverman, the president and CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute.
Indiana is 26th in prevalence of mental illness among children and access to mental health services.
More than half (52.4%) of Indiana children with a mental health condition did not receive treatment in 2019 and 2020.
Indiana students who feel hopeless or considered suicide are higher than the national average. The state's mental health provider ratio is 590:1, which is an ongoing improvement compared to years past.
“I would urge for mental health providers to make sure that we have them available and that they are able to serve the unique needs of children based on their age and based on the situation that they're in,” said Indiana Department of Child Services Director Terry Stigdon. “One mental health provider can't necessarily serve all people.”
Indiana ranks 17th for education. However, the state ranks 41st for Pre-K enrollment. Only 41.1% of kids ages 3 or 4 are in preschool.
Well above two-thirds of students (86.7%) graduate high school on time and 59% of those high school graduates go on to college within a year.
Indiana children rank 18th in economic well-being and 31st in family and community concerns.
All this data is gathered to provide insight to improving outcomes for Indiana children.
"It's really all the people that are showing up having these conversations, asking ‘What more can we do? What more should we be doing?’ Because that shows that level of commitment and interest,” said Silverman.
Indiana's child population ranks 14th in the nation, with 1.57 million kids under 18 in 2020. Nearly 31% of Indiana children identify as people of color. That's far more diverse than the adult population (21.5%).