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Colin Fly, Associated Press (Pioneer Press)
High School dropout rate rises from 2000 to 2004

MILWAUKEE — The number of children living in extreme poverty in Wisconsin has nearly doubled and the state's high school dropout rate has risen since 2000, according to a new study looking at data from 2004.

The percentage of children younger than 6 who have all parents working also is higher than the national average, according to the latest Kids Count state-by-state report on the well-being of U.S. children.

Wisconsin ranked 13th among the 50 states based on 10 key indicators tracked in the latest report, compared with 10th in 2003 and 12th in 2002.

"I think the greatest concern is we continue to see a growth of several different indicators pointing to increasing economic insecurity for families with dependent children," said Charity Eleson, executive director of the nonprofit Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.

The report, prepared for release today, generates the state rankings from data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Community Survey reflecting 2004 and the National Center for Health Statistics for births and deaths in 2003.

Across all indicators, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut ranked the highest. New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi were lowest.

In Wisconsin, 84,000 of the state's children in 2004 lived in families earning less than 50 percent of the federal poverty limit. For families of four, that's a total income of $9,579. Children living in families where no parent has full-time employment year-round increased 11 percent.

"What we see is that parents who have low skill levels and low earnings simply aren't able to benefit from economic growth in the same way as those with higher skill levels are," Eleson said.

She said the state needs to work on providing poor children quality care and educational experiences during their developmental years, giving greater access to education and training to poor adults, and maintaining programs that help poor families improve their economic circumstances.

Eleson said one measure where the state excels is health insurance. According to the study, 94 percent of Wisconsin children are covered, compared to 89 percent nationwide.

"We know how important health care is to the development of children," she said.

In 2004, 66 percent of all children under the age of 6 in Wisconsin had their parents in the work force. Nationally, the rate is 59 percent.

"Traditionally, our labor participation rate exceeds the national average," said Rose Lynch, spokeswoman for the Department of Workforce Development. "We also exceed national averages on the number of children in child care programs. So although parents are working, their children are taking part in established child care settings."

The number of high school dropouts rose 17 percent in Wisconsin, while the national rate dropped. In 2004, 7 percent of Wisconsin teens were high school dropouts, compared with 6 percent in 2000.

Joe Donovan, spokesman for the state Department of Public Instruction, said a truancy program established in 2004 is working to combat dropout rates in Milwaukee, where more than 72 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. A similar program is under way in Green Bay.

"Habitually truant students quite often become dropouts," Donovan said. "One thing that we know is to reduce the number of dropouts, we have to reduce the truancy rate."

The study also showed in Wisconsin:

• Births to teens ages 15-19 decreased by 11 percent, making it the indicator in which the state was most improved. Wisconsin had 31 births per 1,000 teens in 2003, compared with the national rate of 42 per 1,000.

• The portion of babies born weighing fewer than 5.5 pounds increased to 6.8 percent in 2003.

• The infant mortality rate decreased 2 percent to 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003.

• The teen death rate rose 6 percent to 70 deaths per 100,000 teens in 2003.

• The percent of teens ages 16-19 not attending school and not working increased to 6 percent but was still below the national average of 9 percent.

The Casey Foundation is a private organization that promotes families and children.
 
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/states/wisconsin/14909052.htm