Where Arizona kids rank

2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Ranks Arizona 39th and Urges Juvenile Justice Reform

PHOENIX - Arizona ranks 39th in the nation on 10 indicators of child well-being according to the 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. Last year Arizona ranked 36th.

The Data Book shows that Arizona improved in 6 areas since 2000 and got worse in 3 areas. The percent of children living in single-parent families remained at 33%. Arizona's rankings ranged from 12th best in the nation for the percent of low-birthweight babies to 46th in the nation for the teen birth rate.

This year's Data Book puts a spotlight on youth in the juvenile justice system. The Casey Foundation finds that young people who end up confined in detention centers and training schools suffer among the lowest odds of long-term success of any group of adolescents in our nation. They will achieve less educationally, work less and for lower wages, fail more frequently to form enduring families, experience more chronic health problems (including addiction), and suffer more imprisonment than other adolescents. However, we also know that with effective interventions, system reforms, and more effective policies, the system can produce better outcomes for young people.

Arizona has made progress in juvenile justice and there is a real opportunity for more improvement. Arizona's rates of juvenile arrests and incarcerations have been declining. The Data Book shows that by 2005, Arizona's juvenile violent crime arrest rate was 15% below the national rate. After being under the threat of lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department, Arizona has improved the safety and rehabilitative services of our state facilities for incarcerated youth.

Despite these improvements, in 2006 more than 3 out of 4 of youth in state and county custody in Arizona were there for non-violent offenses. Arizona's non-violent custody rate was 77% compared to a 66% rate nationally, ranking Arizona among the ten worst states in the country.

Arizona already has some very effective supervised treatment for youth and their families in communities around the state. Now is the time to take the next step to improve our community safety, make better use of our tax dollars, and reduce our reliance on secure confinement. It's not a question of whether or not we can strengthen families and help youth succeed, it's a question of when we will make it a top priority.

For more information, visit www.kidscount.org/datacenter/databook.jsp

Children's Action Alliance is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of all of Arizona's children and their families through research, policy development, media campaigns and advocacy. www.azchildren.org

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization, whose primary mission is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families. For more information, visit www.aecf.org