A quarter of Kentucky kids are living in poverty, survey shows

One-quarter of the state's children are living below the federal poverty level, according to a report by Kentucky Youth Advocates.

Twelve percent of Kentucky children live in extreme poverty, which is below 50 percent of the poverty level.

And nearly half of Kentucky's children live in homes considered low income, or 200 percent of the poverty level, the report found.

The poverty level is defined as annual income of $24,600 for a family of four.

Some officials tie the state's drug epidemic to child poverty and the rising number of children removed from homes because of abuse and neglect.

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"We have poverty. We, like all communities, have drug addiction," said Cale Turner, county-judge executive of Owsley County in Eastern Kentucky, which posted the state's highest rate of child poverty at  62 percent.

"That really concerns me, children living in homes with drug addicts," he said. " I know it happens."

Owsley was among six counties, all in Eastern Kentucky, with more than half the children living below the poverty level.

In Jefferson County, 22 percent of children live below the federal poverty level. Oldham County, one of the state's most affluent counties, had the lowest rate with only 6.7 percent of children in poverty.

While the overall number of Kentucky children in poverty decreased slightly from five years ago, from 26 percent to the current 25 percent, the number of children in impoverished households is still a major concern, said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates.

"Giving children opportunities to succeed is essential if our state is to reach its  potential," said Brooks, whose organization released the report Tuesday.

The report, the Kids Count County Data Book, offers a closer look at the welfare of children in Kentucky following the national "Kids Count"  report earlier this year by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that ranks states in terms of child well-being.

In the national report, Kentucky remained in the bottom third of states, ranking 34th under measures of economic security, health, education and family circumstances, up one notch from last year's ranking of 35th. Indiana ranked 28th in this year's report compared to 30th last year.

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The state report found some improvements in the lives of Kentucky's children.

Nearly 96 percent of Kentucky's kids have health insurance, up from 93 percent five years ago. Advocates attribute the growth to the Affordable Care Act and more enrollment of children in Medicaid and the Children's Health Program, or CHIP, a Medicaid funded program for children who are low-income but whose parents earn too much for Medicaid.

High school graduation rates increased with 90 percent of high school students getting degrees compared to 86 percent five years ago.

And teen birth rates declined to about 35 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19 compared to 49 births per 1,000 teens five years ago.

But high rates of child poverty continue to plague many Kentucky families, putting children at a disadvantage in heath, educational attainment and other outcomes, the report found.

"Growing up in a financially stable home affects almost every other aspect of a young child's life," said Jennifer Hancock, president of Volunteers of America's regional operation based in Kentucky. "The addiction crisis has touched every community and has worsened many families' financial instability."

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Owsley County, population 4,800, has seen its share of addiction problems and Turner, the county judge, is especially frustrated by the toll it takes on children,

"If I'm addicted to drugs, I'm incapable of raising a child," he said.

Turner said the county has had success cultivating employers to hire people to work at home. Thanks to high-speed internet installed by the local People's Rural Telephone Cooperative, 129 local people have been able to land well-paying jobs working at home in customer support for national companies, he said.

"If it weren't for the drug addiction, the numbers would go higher," he said.

Kentucky Youth Advocates said it hopes state and local officials will use the information in  the report to try to improve conditions for children, Brooks said.

The report is available on its website, kyyouth. org.

Contact reporter Deborah Yetter at 502-582-4228 or dyetter@courier-journal.com.