Study: More Kentucky kids lives in poverty this year

Local News

December 16, 2009

Rate of poor children in Pulaski rises while abuse, neglect go down

By RONNIE ELLIS The Commonwealth Journal Wed Dec 16, 2009, 08:56 PM EST

More Kentucky children live in poverty now than seven years ago, more are on food stamps, more at health risk and teen pregnancies are on the rise again after a decade of improvement.

Those are some of the insights from data in the 2009 Kentucky KIDS Count County Data Book released Wednesday by the Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It provides state and county-level data on child welfare and poverty and calls for more collaboration among agencies and groups serving children’s needs.

Much of the data pre-dates the worst of the economic recession, according to KYA Director Dr. Terry Brooks, and that means Kentucky children’s plight is likely worse than the data reflect.

“As the data catches up to the economy, we would expect those data to get significantly worse,” Brooks said.

The study concludes that collaborative efforts to help children in Kentucky usually only occur once the child reaches a high level of involvement with the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Department of Community Based Services. Brooks and Tara Grieshop-Goodwin of KYA said the state should invest more in preventive programs which are less costly in the long run.

Brooks said such efforts are an effective way of helping children even in light of a tight state budget but he said such preventive and less costly programs “are often the first on the chopping block.” He said a program in Louisville which cost $100,000 had a 100 percent success rate in preventing client children from being placed in foster care. Only two children in foster care would cost the state more than that, he said.

But the program was cut last year during the state budget reductions.

Among the study’s findings:

• from 2000 to 2007, the percentage of children living in poverty in Kentucky rose from 21 percent to 24 percent;

• between 2000 and 2008, the average monthly number of Kentucky children on food stamps increased from 177,569 to 251,318 – a 42 percent increase;

• low-weight births are increasing;

• there was a 27 percent increase in the number of children held in secure detention facilities over five years, from 7,736 to 9,834;

• there were 7,340 births to mothers aged 15 to 19 in 2006.

The study details data by individual county as well as statewide. For instance, in Boyd County the study found a decline of 4.8 percent in the number of children 17 and under from 2000 to 2008; the number of children living in poverty rose by 1 percent (23-24) from 2000 to 2007; the rate of children found to be victims of abuse rose by more than 50 percent over five years.

The number of children 17 and younger rose by 70 in Knox County and fell by 230 in Whitley County between 2000 and 2008. Poverty rates among children fell by 1 percent in Knox and increased by 5 percent in Whitley between 2000 and 2007. But the rate of abused children more than doubled in Knox County but declined in Whitley from 2003 to 2007.

In Barren County, the child population grew from 9,210 in 2000 to 9,673 in 2008 and fewer children were abused or neglected and the number of children place in out of home care dropped. But more live in poverty – 25 percent in 2007 – and more were charged with juvenile offenses. Child and teen death rates exceeded the state rate as well.

The rate of children in Madison County, according to Kids Count, found to be victims of abuse or neglect nearly tripled between 2003 and 2008 but the rate of youth charged with public offenses decreased. The number of children living in poverty rose from 18 percent in 2000 to 23 percent in 2007 and the youth population grew from 15,512 in 2000 to 18,366 in 2008.

The number of children increased in Pulaski County by 3.9 percent to 13,672 from 2000 to 2008 but so did the number living in poverty. Between 2000 and 2007, the percentage of poor children rose from 27 to 32 percent. Abuse and neglect rates declined, however, by 26 percent and so did the number of children placed in out of home care because of abuse or neglect.

The Kids Count County Data Book can be viewed online at http://www.kyyouth.org/KIDS_COUNT/State/documents/kya_databook09.pdf

RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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