The most recent data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count is out. It has insights on child-related statistics for the nation and South Dakota.
According to the report – American Indian and Alaska Native children in South Dakota live in poverty at significantly higher rates than nationally.
It says about 27% of American Indian and Alaska Native children in the United States live in poverty. That’s compared to the national rate of children at 16%.
In South Dakota that same figure for Native children aged 0-17-years-old is over 50%.
The state has slightly less children living in poverty at about 15%. That’s according to data from 2022 – the most recent on the Kids Count South Dakota website.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation reports ranks South Dakota 10th in the country overall in child economic well-being.
The state is slightly lower than many neighboring states like Minnesota and North Dakota.
However – South Dakota ranks 27th in child education well-being, 26th in health and 24th in family and community.
Those combined put the state 21st in the nation for overall child well-being rankings.
The report also ranks the state 44th in percentage of children aged 3-4 in school from 2018-2022. That’s 61% of South Dakota three and four-year-olds not attending pre-school.
The national average is 54% for the same age group.
The report says early education programs are a particular challenge in states with lots of rural areas.
South Dakota is one of the few states to not use state funds for pre-school education.
