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Food, education, quality health care and a secure home are some basic needs that most children don’t have to worry about. However,  not every child is so privileged. August is Child Support Awareness Month and nearly 1 in 7 children in the U.S. are living in poverty. This comes from a report on 2022’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children released by WalletHub.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key measures of neediness. The data set ranges from share of children in households with below-poverty income to child food-insecurity rate to share of maltreated children.

 

According to the Children’s Defense Fund, a child is abused or neglected every 48 seconds. In addition, one year of all confirmed cases of child maltreatment leads to $124 billion in costs over those children’s lifetimes. Also, the conditions for underprivileged children have been exacerbated this year. The worsening circumstances are partly due to the financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic lock downs and rising inflation.

How Does Indiana Do Protecting Our Youngest?

Source: WalletHub

Welfare of Children in Indiana (1=Most; 25=Avg.):

  • 21st – % of Children in Households with Below-Poverty Income
  • 10th – % of Maltreated Children
  • 23rd – Child Food-Insecurity Rate
  • 11th – % of Uninsured Children
  • 10th – Infant Mortality Rate
  • 6th – % of Children in Foster Care
  • 23rd – % of Children in Single-Parent Families

These rankings place Indiana at 13 in the country of “states with the most underprivileged children”. The state with the worst ranking belonged to Mississippi and the best was New Jersey.

WalletHub also compared more than 180 U.S. cities to determine the best city to raise a family. The criteria is based on 46 key metrics that consider essential family dynamics, such as the cost of housing, the quality of local school and health-care systems, and the opportunities for fun and recreation. Of the 182 cities studied, Indianapolis indexed near the bottom at number 147.

According to their findings, Fremont, California was the best city to raise a family and Detroit, Michigan was the worst.

Source: WalletHub