Contemporary Culture Putting Historic Pressures on Nation’s Young

By Jay King HOMETOWN NEWS jking@hometown-news.com [Editor’s Note: In observance of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, this is the first article in a series in which Hometown News will explore the challenges and opportunities facing our children — our greatest treasure.} With the percentage of children in the American population shrinking as the Baby Boom generation ages, children’s advocates and other experts in the field say the nation’s young are facing pressures that have confronted few generations that have come before. According to figures compiled by the federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, in 2006 there were 73.7 million children ages 0 - 17 in the United States or about 25 percent of the population. That figure represents a significant decrease from the peak during the Baby Boom of 36 percent in 1964. Over the next few weeks, Hometown News will explore the various challenges and opportunities facing children in Spartanburg County and across the nation. Among the many statistics that describe a generation under threat are: • According to the US department of Health and Human Services, in 2005 an estimated 3.3 million children were abused, neglected or underwent investigations by state and local protective services agencies. • In 2005, 18 percent of children ages 0 - 17 lived at or below the Federal poverty level. • In 2005, 89 percent of children had health insurance coverage, down one percent from the preceding year. • About 60 percent of American children live in counties reporting concentrations of air pollutants above allowable levels. • The percentage of low-birth weight babies reported was at 8.2 percent in 2005, a figure that has risen steadily since 1984 (6.7 percent). • Almost 50 percent of high school students reported having had sexual intercourse. • The percentage of overweight children aged 6 - 17 rose to a historic high of 18 percent, up from six percent between 1976-1980 and 11 percent between 1988-1994. Other findings in the report, “America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005,” seem to support the conclusion that American children are more likely to live in poverty and commit or be victims of violent crime. According to the report poverty is the single best predictor of child abuse and neglect. South Carolina ranks in about the middle of the states in terms of children living in low-income families, according to the Annie M. Casey Foundation, one of the nation’s largest charitable foundations involved in child welfare advocacy and public policy. The Palmetto State reports having 44 percent of its children in low-income families, compared to 45 percent in North Carolina and 42 percent in Georgia. The foundation also reports that the state ranks 44th in child health, 25th in emotional an social well-being and 12th in terms of cognitive development and educational attainment among low-income families. As South Carolina grapples with issues of educational reform and economic development in an extremely competitive global economy, local, state and national experts also continue to assess how well the state’s children are prepared for adulthood. This series will look at the problems facing South Carolina’s children in several specific areas and offer experts’ views on how local and state initiatives and efforts are addressing problems in education, economic opportunities, social justice and health and wellness. As study after study asserts, the state of the nation’s children and their future prospects impacts society in a multitude of ways, not all of them easy to assess. Based on the self-evident assertion that the state of the nation’s children materially impacts the future of American society, Hometown News aims in succeeding weeks to provide a frank and honest assessment of how well we’re treating our children as a community, as a state, and as a country.