Back to Goal 8From Measures and Milestones 2002
p. 32-33, published 2002
To be “ready to learn” children must enter school in the best possible emotional and physical health, with proper clothing, food, shelter, and a sense of curiosity and well-being fostered in a nurturing and loving home. Any obstacle to a child’s full participation in the life-transforming experience of learning can ultimately undermine his or her success in school and life. On this important goal, ranked 10th in importance, the 2002 survey shows that a greater proportion of citizens believe Kentucky is making progress, while fewer believe we are losing ground.
Table 1: Where Citizens Think We Stand
While recent concern about child (under age 18) poverty focuses on the impact of welfare reform, national data show that more children of working poor families are living in poverty than those who are reliant on some form of public assistance. In addition, studies have shown that despite the enormous wealth of our nation, our child poverty rate is one of the highest in the developed world. This is of particular concern to the Commonwealth, given the state’s historically higher child poverty rates compared to the nation as a whole.
Figure 1: Percent of Children in Poverty, Selected Years, Kentucky and the U.S.
During the 2000-2001 school year, 37 percent of Kentucky school children were eligible for free meals, and another 9 percent qualified for reduced-price meals. Of the total school lunches served in 2001, 54 percent were provided free or at a reduced price. However, a substantial portion of those children who are eligible to participate in either free or reduced-price lunch programs did not do so. For many low-income children, school breakfast programs provide an important start to the school day. The majority (77.6 percent) of school breakfasts served (174,125) were provided free or at a reduced rate.
Figure 2: Percent of Eligible Kentucky Children Who Participate in School Lunch Programs
Kentucky ranks above the national average and among the best states in the country in terms of the percentage of its youngsters who are properly immunized. Thanks to state and federally funded immunization programs, as well as community outreach efforts, Kentucky has made significant progress in terms of protecting children from an array of childhood diseases, many of which have proven to be lifelong obstacles to learning and achieving fully productive lives.
Figures 3: Percent of Two-Year-Olds Who Are Adequately Immunized, Kentucky and the U.S., 1994-1999
As in many other southern states, Kentucky only began providing kindergarten to five-year-olds in the past two decades, and it did not begin a significant prekindergarten program until 1990. While Kentucky has made substantial progress since then towards ensuring that eligible children––those from low-income homes or with learning or developmental problems—are served through these preschool programs, around 20 percent of this population is still not enrolled.
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