More local children living in poverty
By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor

The number of Jenkins County children living in poverty is on the rise according to an annual report released last week.

The 2007 "Kids Count" Data Book, funded by the nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation, compiles information on child well-being and ranks states based on 10 factors. Statistics on individual states are then broken down by counties.

According to the report, the percentage of Jenkins County children living in poverty has risen from 30.3 percent in 2002 to 33 percent in 2004. This compares to a state rate of 17.8 percent in 2002 and 19.4 percent in 2004.

Although 2005 statistics for this indicator were not available in the "Kids Count" report, the 2005 Census for Jenkins County indicated similar figures. The annual median income for families was listed as $29,539 with approximately 22.30 percent of families and 28.40 percent of the population living below the poverty level, including 39.80 percent of those under the age of 18.

On a brighter note, the "Kids Count" report indicated that the number of substantiated cases of child abuse/neglect has decreased slightly for the county, but remains well above the state rate. The local rate, per 1,000 children, was 50.7 in 2001, but had dropped to 43.1 for 2005. The state rate was only 17.1 in 2001 and 19.07 for 2005.

The percentage of local students who graduate from high school on time has also decreased slightly and remains below state levels with 55.6 percent graduating on time in 2002 and 54.5 percent in 2005. The state percentages were 61.8 percent for 2002 and 69.4 percent for 2005.

However, the 2005-2006 K- 12 Public Schools Annual Report Card released by the Georgia Department of Education in March indicated that the county's graduation rate has increased to 63.6 percent for the 2005-2006 school term.

The "Kids Count" report noted that the number of local students eligible for the HOPE scholarship has also risen from 35 percent in 2001 to 40.7 percent in 2005. This compares to 55.4 percent in 2001 and 61.1 percent in 2005 for the state as a whole.

Another bright spot in the report revealed that progress has been made locally in school attendance. The number of students who were absent more than 15 days has declined from 347 in 2003 to 201 in 2005.

Statewide, children living in poverty increased by 11 percent from 2000 to 2005, and Georgia ranked 41 nationwide. The state has ranked in the bottom 10 for approximately 15 years.

The entire report can be viewed online at www.aecf.org/ kidscount.