FROM INDIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Indiana ranks in the bottom half of all 50 states for child well-being.

That’s according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s national Kids Count Data Book, unveiled Monday.

Indiana’s 27th overall child well-being ranking is based on data across four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.

The state isn’t doing too poorly in the first two categories, though it got worse across multiple education data points. That includes 2022 data on the percentage of three and four-year-olds not in school and of eighth graders not proficient in math.

Ashley Haynes is a vice president at the Indiana Youth Institute, the state affiliate for the Kids Count network.

And while Indiana ranks 31st in the country for family and community measures, Haynes said many of those data points have improved.

That includes reductions in the percentage of children living in high-poverty areas and the number of teen births.