Texas Kids Aren’t Very Healthy, Report Says

July 25, 2012 5:15 am by: Brian Baresch

The Kids Count project studies childrens' health across the country. Image courtesy Kids Count

By Katherine Jacobsen

Texas ranks 44th among states in the health and well-being of its children, according to a study out this morning by the Annie E. Casey Foundation called Kids Count.

The low ranking comes as a result of the state’s high child poverty rate of 26 percent.

Almost 1 in 5 Texas children live in a home where no parent has a full-time job. And the state still has the second-highest rate of uninsured children in the country.

“If we want to continue to be the number one state to do business, we have to have a healthy educated workforce, and when we have a healthy educated workforce 10 and 20 years down the road, those workers are kids who are growing up right now,” said Frances Deviney, director of Texas Kids Count.

You can access the full report including state-by-state comparisons at datacenter.kidscount.org