Child Support Awareness Month is this August, with 1 in 6 children in the United States currently living in poverty.
WalletHub released a study that showed the states with the most underprivileged children in 2024, with Kentucky making it 15th on the list for most kids living in poverty in the nation.
There were many key metrics that showed how Kentucky ranked so highly on the list. Here is a breakdown of the welfare of kids in Kentucky:
Overall Rank: 15th
- 8th – % of Children in Households with Below-Poverty Income
- 12th – % of Maltreated Children
- 10th – Child Food-Insecurity Rate
- 30th – % of Uninsured Children
- 26th – Infant Mortality Rate
- 11th – % of Children in Foster Care
- 20th – % of Children in Single-Parent Families
The latest County Data Book from 2023 from Kentucky Youth Advocates found that while children in poverty has decreased some, there are still high rates of children poverty among Black and Latino kids compared to White children.
According to that same data, Black parents across the Commonwealth also saw higher rates of incarceration than their White counterparts, which it says may play a role in child poverty as well for minority children.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 13, 2024.
