Annual report says 40% of kids endure harmful impact of ‘adverse’ life experiences

BY: TIM CARPENTER, Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — A 50-state assessment showed the percentage of Kansas children living in poverty declined and the portion of teens not in school or working increased, while there were increases in fourth graders struggling with reading and eighth graders flustered by math.

The 2024 Kids Count report, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and based on the most recent data, ranked Kansas 19th overall on education, economics, health and family conditions relevant to raising a child. That was a decline from an ranking of 17th in 2023.

Kansas placed among its four neighboring states in the 2024 assessment as Nebraska stood at 9th, Colorado was 17th, Missouri finished 32nd and Oklahoma trailed at 46th.

Looking at changes in household data on child welfare, the Casey Foundation said Kansas had taken steps forward in half of 16 well-being measures contained in the annual report.

Adrienne Olejnik, a vice president at Kansas Action for Children, which partners with the Casey Foundation on the report, said trendlines suggested more could be done by public officials to prepare the next generation of Kansans to enter the workforce or college.

“At the end of the day, we want kids to succeed,” Olejnik said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “We want the scores to improve. So, we have to keep showing up at the table with good data.”

Out of hand ACEs

The new report indicated that in 2021-2022 an estimated 40% of Kansas children experienced one or more “adverse childhood experiences” capable of creating harmful levels of stress and undermining their mental development and ability to cope with life challenges.

Examples of ACEs could range from traumatic episodes related a family death, substance abuse or crime as well as unstable housing, divorce or not having enough to eat.

“These start to stack up. And the reason that they are so important … is that it directly impacts their brain development at that time. We can mitigate these ACEs through trusting relationships with adults,” Olejnik said.

Kids Count says 38,500 or 5% of Kansas children were without health insurance in 2022, which was slightly better than the 6% of 2019. Olejnik said the health care picture would improve if more Kansas families had access to affordable, quality medical services. One option for Kansas lawmakers would be to join 40 states that approved expansion of eligibility under the Medicaid program.

Expiration of COVID-19 federal programs that inflated Medicaid enrollment will leave more families without health coverage in the future.

“Having health insurance reduces the stress in the household so that parents can focus on other things related to their children,” she said.

In terms of other health factors influencing child welfare, Kansas’ percentage of low birth-weight babies climbed to 7.8% in the latest report. That was an increase from 7.6% in 2019.

In addition, the state’s figure for child and teen deaths per 100,000 people went up to 35 in the new report compared to 28 in 2019. The updated report says 29% of Kansas children and teens, aged 10 to 17, were overweight. The national figure stood at 33%.

The net result of state-by-state shifts left Kansas ranked 19th nationally in child health indicators, an upgrade from 22nd in the 2023 report by the Casey Foundation.

Education erosion

The Casey Foundation revealed 69% of fourth-graders in Kansas weren’t proficient in reading and 77% of the state’s eighth-graders had not reached proficiency in math on the 2022 National Assessment of Education Progress. Nationally, 68% of fourth-grade readers and 74% of eighth-grade math students were less than proficient in 2022 on NAEP.

“We’re seeing a decline in proficiencies across the country. Kansas is by no means the worst,” said Ryan Reza, data and policy analyst for Kansas Action for Children. “We’re kind of seeing this general trend with NAPE scores. It started prior to the pandemic, but it was exacerbated by the pandemic.”

The percentage of Kansas children 3 to 4 years of age not in a preschool program climbed to 56% from 2018 to 2022 from 54% in 2013 to 2017.

Meanwhile, Kansas continued to improve its standing in terms of motivating high school students graduate on time. Eighty-eight percent of Kansas students graduated on time in 2020-21, but the pre-COVID-19 benchmark for timely graduation from high school was 87% in 2018-19.

These numbers placed Kansas at 28th in the United States, which was a decline from 26th in last year’s report.

Economic, family status

The volume of Kansas children living in poverty was 14% in 2022, up from 13% the previous year and down from 15% in 2019. In 2022, the national average was 16%. In terms of Kansas, that meant about 90,000 children in Kansas resided in homes with a household income of $29,600 for a family of two adults and two children.

The portion of Kansans whose parents lacked secure employment registered at 20% in 2022, which was better than the national average of 26%.

There was an uptick in the percentage of Kansas teens not in school and not working: 6% in 2022 versus 5% in 2019. However, Kansas’ ranking on this factor fell from 11th to 16th compared to the rest of the nation.

The  figure for Kansans living in households with a high housing cost burden grew to 23% in 2022, an escalation from 22% in 2019.

Reza said Kansas had generally stayed in the top 10 nationally in terms of economic well-being, but dropped out of that elite group in the new Kids County analysis. In the 2024 report, Kansas ranked 12th after falling from seventh in the 2023 report.

“Other states have done more work, especially in the years following the pandemic,” Reza said.

On family and community metrics, the Case Foundation said Kansas ranked 23rd nationally — a nudge to the better from 24th in last year’s edition of the Kids Count report.

For example, the number of Kansas children living in poverty was at 6% based on a four-year average from 2018 to 2022. That was an upgrade from 7% over the 2013 to 2017 period.

Kansas recorded fewer teen births per 1,000 residents in 2022 with 16, which was an improvement from 19 per 1,000 in 2019. Also, the percentage of children living in single-parent families moved to 29% in 2022, a reduction from 30% in 2019. Another improvement: 9% of children had a head of household without a high school diploma in 2022. In 2019, that number for Kansas was 10%.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – The Third Annual Tamale Fest brought tamale lovers alike together in the Kansas City metro over the weekend.

The Mattie Rhodes Center’s Third Annual Tamale Fest kicked off on Saturday, June 22, between 4 and 10 p.m. with an authentic Hispanic culture experience.

Leaders said the festival is meant to bring the community together to appreciate food. Tamales are a part of Mexican culture as well as other Hispanic cultures, however, they have become popular throughout the region.

As the Mattie Rhodes Center recognized this, the center hopes the shared liking will bring those of diverse cultures and backgrounds together.

“Arts provide a means to preserve, educate, and instill pride in Hispanic culture,” said MRC Cultural Center CEO and President John Fierro.

Attendees were treated to live music, a tamale-tasting competition, a jalapeno eating competition, crafts, vendors and more.

“The Tamale Fest provides another opportunity for Mattie Rhodes Cultural Arts Center to preserve Hispanic culture through food,” Fierro said.

The event was held at the MRC at 1701 Jarboe St., in Kansas City, Mo.

Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.

After over 80 matches in a Crew uniform, two-time MLS Cup champion Aidan Morris is expected to play his final match for Columbus on Saturday.

Over a week ago, it was reported that Morris will be signing with England’s second-tier EFL Championship Middlesbrough FC. With the anticipation that the deal will become official early next week, the Crew will be honoring Morris following Columbus’ upcoming match at Lower.com Field against Sporting Kansas City.

More: Crew midfielder Aidan Morris leaving Columbus for EFL Championship’s Middlesbrough FC

The matchup against Kansas City will be the Crew’s first match at home since May 11, when they fell to FC Cincinnati 2-1. During the six weeks of road matches Columbus had on the schedule, the Crew went 4-1 in MLS play, with their only loss coming against Inter Miami 2-1 on Wednesday.

The temperature at Lower.com Field on Saturday night is expected to be even hotter than it was in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. when the Crew took on Miami due to the heat wave across the United States. According to the Weather Channel, the temperature Columbus around kickoff will be 91 degrees, but will feel like 95 degrees.

With the different backgrounds of the players on the Crew’s roster, some prefer playing in this type of heat.

“I played in Africa, so for me, that’s good,” said Crew defender Steven Moreira. “Of course, when it’s hot, we have to control the game more, and the ball.”

Follow along for live updates from the Crew’s match against Sporting Kansas City:

Recently retired Ohio State University athletic director Gene Smith was the Crew’s “match ignitor” on Saturday night before Columbus’ match against Sporting Kansas City. The “match ignitor” is involved in a pregame tradition for the Crew used the get the crowd excited for the upcoming match.

The temperature 15 minutes before kickoff at Lower.com Field is 94 degrees but feels like 97.

Columbus’ match against Sporting Kansas City will serve as a farewell for midfielder Aidan Morris, with the club expected to hold a postgame ceremony for the 22-year-old.

Fans via social media have also organized their own way to honor Morris and are planning to sing a chant the fan base has created for Morris in the eighth minute of the match, which coincides with his No. 8 jersey number.

Read more about the Crew’s plans to honor Morris here.

Here is the starting 11 for Kansas City vs Columbus:

• GK: John Pulskamp
• DF: Robert Castellanos
• DF: Dany Rosero
• DF: Robert Voloder
• MF: Zorhan Bassong
• MF: Kayden Pierre
• MF: Nemanja Radoja
• MF: Memo Rodriguez
• FW: Stephen Afrifa
• FW: Willy Agada
• FW: Erik Tommy

Here is the starting 11 for Columbus vs Kansas City:

• GK: Patrick Schulte
• DF: Rudy Camacho
• DF: Yevhen Cheberko
• DF: Steven Moreira
• MF: Max Arfsten
• MF: Mo Farsi
• MF: Aidan Morris
• MF: Darlington Nagbe
• FW: Cucho Hernandez
• FW: Christian Ramirez
• FW: Diego Rossi

Here is the Kansas City’s official availability report:

• Danny Flores (head): Out
• Felipe Hernandez (undisclosed): Out
• Tim Leibold (quad): Questionable
• Logan Ndenbe (knee): Out
• Alan Pulido (knee): Questionable
• Daniel Salloi (ankle)
• Remi Walter (knee)

Here is the Crew’s official availability report:

• Evan Bush (arm): Out
• Jacen Russell-Rowe (international duty): Out

Here are the officials for the Crew vs Kansas on Saturday night:

• Referee: Marcos DeOliveira
• Assistant Referee 1: Ian McKay
• Assistant Referee 2: Chantal Boudreau
• Fourth Official: Nabil Bensalah
• VAR: Kevin Scott
• Assistant VAR: Joshua Patlak

The Crew are 23-26-9 overall against Sporting Kansas City. This is Columbus’ first match against Kansas City since 2019.

The Crew vs. Sporting Kansas City English-speaking radio broadcast will be on Alt 105.7 FM and available via the iHeartRadio app. Columbus’ regular radio broadcaster Chris Doran will be on the call.

The Spanish radio broadcast can be found on La Grande 102.5 FM and the La Grande radio app with Juan Valladares doing play-by-play.

The Crew-Kansas City match will be available on Apple TV via an MLS Season Pass subscription. Here are the broadcast teams for tonight:

• English broadcast: Neil Sika (play-by-play), Lloyd Sam (analyst)
• Spanish broadcast: Raul Guzman (play-by-play), Carlos Ruiz (analyst)

Kickoff: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22 at Lower.com Field.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

Get more Columbus Crew content by listening to our podcast