KIDS COUNT 2021 sets the stage for anxious pandemic reports to come

The 2021 KIDS COUNT data book has arrived like a sentry ahead of a more dire and mysterious report still to come.

That’s because the extensive accounting on the well-being of Missouri’s children compiled data gathered through 2019 — just before the pandemic changed everything.

As the introduction to the report notes, the 2021 book is “serving as a baseline as we begin to understand the catastrophic impact that COVID-19 has had on Missouri’s families with children.”

The report, supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Family and Community Trust (FACT), shows improvement in the Kansas City area for many of the standards that measure child welfare.

Here’s some of what we know ahead of COVID-19:

In Jackson County, 19.6% of the children under 18 were living in poverty. The adult unemployment rate was 3.7%. In the county, 4.3% of children were homeless. The rate of unintentional teen deaths by homicide or suicide was 75.8 per 100,000.

School attendance in K-12 was 93.7%, the graduation rate was 89.4% and 42.2% of third graders were scoring proficient at reading.

In Clay County, those same measures were 12.5% of children were living in poverty, unemployment was 2.9%, homeless children was at 2.3%, and the unintentional death rate for teens was 43.3 per 100,000. School attendance was 94.8%, graduation rate was 96.3%, and 56.9% of third graders were reading proficiently.

To see the full report, go to mokidscount.org.

Meanwhile, the school systems, social services and non-profits invested in improving child welfare — including LINC — have been marshaling resources to help families through the pandemic.

The next KIDS COUNT data book will begin to tell that tale.