babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Why Kentucky’s the Worst State for Kids
Forget what they say about the best and worst cities to raise kids. The worst state to raise a child is officially Kentucky.
Sure, they’ve got the Derby and miles and miles of pretty fences. But they’ve also got the highest number of fatal child abuse cases in the country.
No, not every Kentucky family is beating their kids. But in a state with a population of 4.2 million people, forty-one died from abuse and neglect in 2007. Sounds low, but according to Child Matters Education Fund, a non-profit group in Washington, D.C., that works out to a rate of 4.09 deaths per 100,000 Kentucky children. Between 2001 and 2007, the fund’s numbers show two hundred ten Kentucky kids died from child abuse.
No, children are not lucky to be living in Kentucky.
The sad story might have a happy ending, however. The Herald-Leader reports child welfare advocates are using the numbers to effect reform in the state system, pushing for “specific information about each child’s death, including whether he or she had previous contact with state social workers.” To solve the problems, they’re also calling for increased spending by the state to help kids.
Good news for Kentucky kids? Lexington is listed as one of the ten best places to raise kids in the U.S. Somewhere, there are lucky kids.
More by this author:
Go Back To Strollerderby
0 Comments
ri-chan commented on Oct 26 09 at 3:39 pmI live in Kentucky and it’s a great place to raise kids, but a lot of people here are incredibly poor (some parts of Appalachia are exquivelent to the conditions in third world countries), they’re uneducated, poor, they live out in the middle of nowhere, they have a history of family violence, and they’re addicted to drugs and alchol. Another problem in Kentucky is that people are still in the “family problems stay in the family” mindset, so they don’t report child abuse when they see it. They are by no means the norm. The majority of children are not abused. I’m glad to be raising my son here, I live in a town where people are comfortable letting their children run around the city and know they’ll be safe. There are lots of woods to play in and very little traffic. Kentucky is as beautiful place.
Rosana commented on Oct 28 09 at 1:11 pmFirst, how can this have a happy ending since so many kids have died already? Second, how can they label the state as a bad place to raise your kids when the abuse and neglet is inflicted by their families, not the neighborhood or city?
joey commented on Jan 27 10 at 2:14 pmThat’s not Kentucky’s fault, it’s the mentally disturbed/ stupid people’s fault. Adults who do abuse their kids should not have kids in the first place. If you want to move to Kentucky, you’re not going to turn into a child abuser. If your kid knows not to go into a random person’s car or house, then they should be safe.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
0