PITTSSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Pennsylvania inched ahead in a national indicator of child health and well-being this year but could lose whatever gains it has made because of this year’s cuts in the state budget, educators and child advocates warned.
After years of being ranked 23rd among 50 states by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Pennsylvania improved its ranking to 20th in the foundation’s 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book despite falling behind in two measures: teenagers not in school and not working and the number of children living with at least one unemployed parent — a new indicator added this year to better understand the 2008 recession’s effects.
This year’s state budget cuts are already affecting child well-being in Pittsburgh, said Linda Lane, superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools. For the first time, the school system will have fewer classrooms and fewer students enrolled in its pre-kindergarten programs than in the past — about 420 students in all, she said… (more)
