New report has insights for South Dakota's child-related statistics

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.