U.S. graded on well-being of its children

A multi-agency report says America generally is making the grade when it comes to its children's well-being VIDEO CNN's Dr. Steve Salvatore reports on a program that benefits special-needs kids (July 9) Windows Media 28K 80K A summary of the report, from CNN's Pat Etheridge (July 9) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K  ALSO: Could your child have ADHD? MESSAGE BOARDS: School shootings Kicking the habit Children at risk

July 9, 1999
Web posted at: 3:05 p.m. EDT (1905 GMT)

In this story: Diet, smoking, pregnancy Youth violence Learning disabilities 'She would lash out' 'Important to the future of the country' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Like children who get report cards, the United States as a nation has just been graded on the well- being of its youngest citizens. While the findings from a report issued Thursday show room for improvement, they are mostly upbeat. That includes promising results from a New York program to help children with learning disabilities.

As a whole, things are looking up for American kids, according to the report, which was compiled with statistics from various government agencies.

"Our children continue to be healthier ... because our infant and adolescent mortality rates continue to decline," said Edward Sondik of the National Center for Health Statistics.

On the other hand, there's been no progress in reducing teen alcohol consumption or increasing health insurance coverage, says Kristen Moore, president of Child Trends, a research group.

The number of 10th- and 12th-graders who smoke daily fell in 1998

Even the areas where there have been improvements are still disturbing, she adds. "We're not where we should be."

Diet, smoking, pregnancy

Among the findings:

• Most children and teens have diets that are less than desirable. For instance, in 1996, 24 percent of children ages 2 to 5 had a good diet and 8 percent had a poor diet.
  
  The rest needed improvement to meet federal recommendations. Those numbers generally got worse for older kids.

• The number of 10th- and 12th-graders who smoke daily fell in 1998 after gradually increasing since 1992. Among 10th-graders, the figure dropped from 18 percent to 16 percent.
  
  The number of seniors who smoke stood at 22 percent, down from 25 percent. Despite the downward trend, the percentage of high school smokers is considered high.

• The birth rate for girls ages 15 to 17 fell from its peak of 38.7 live births per 1,000 teens in 1991 to 32.1 percent in 1997.

• 48 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in preschool in 1997, up from 45 percent a year earlier, partly due to welfare reforms that pushed mothers into the work force.
  
  The most dramatic rise was among black children, with the percentage rising from 45 percent to 55 percent.

• The number of poor children receiving all their vaccines edged up in 1997 to 71 percent, up from 69 percent in 1996.

Youth violence

Lately, much of the attention on teens has dealt with violence, as the nation struggles to understand school shootings in Colorado, Georgia and elsewhere.

But youth violence has actually been dropping since it peaked in 1993.

"The public in general doesn't have a very accurate view of violent crime," said Margaret Zahn, a criminologist at North Carolina State University.

In 1997, there were 31 serious violent juvenile crimes committed for every 1,000 children ages 12 to 17.

That's down from 52 per 1,000 in 1993 and is the lowest rate since 1986, according to the Justice Department. Still, in 1997 there were 706,000 violent crimes involving one or more of these teens.

There also are fewer teen victims of crime. There were 27 victims for every 1,000 people ages 12 to 17 in 1997. That's down from 44 for every 1,000 in 1993, Justice said.

Joseph used to struggle in school because of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but is thriving under a New York program for poor children with learning disabilities

Learning disabilities

About 12 percent of children and teens ages 5 to 17 have difficulty performing one or more everyday activities, the report said.

The most common problem in this category are learning disabilities, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a fact Sharlone Jones knows all too well.

Her son, Joseph, used to struggle in school every day. "It was like he couldn't read, write (or) spell," she told CNN.

Since then, Joseph's test scores at school have improved dramatically, thanks to a new program at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York.

"Jo Jo came from a zero to 100," says the boy's proud mother.

'She would lash out'

A clinic within the hospital takes children with learning disabilities from low income homes and provides them with a "medical home" -- a place where all their medical and psychological needs can be met under one roof.

"The child is seen by a neurologist, a psychologist and not infrequently by a child psychiatrist," explains Dr. Ram Kairam, a neurologist at Bronx-Lebanon. "We put our thoughts together, make up the diagnosis and we put this information back into the school system."

This gives the school system one contact to deal with when the child needs help, something government programs rarely offer, Kairam says.

Aimee Padin also has benefited from the special needs program. "She's learned to control herself," says her mother, Jenny. "Before ... she got frustrated, she would lash out."

Before Alex Blanco entered the program, his mother blamed herself for the boy's unacceptable behavior.

"It put a strain on our relationship and our family," Nelly Blanco told CNN. "We thought, 'what can we do?'"

'Important to the future of the country'

Children like Joseph, Aimee and Alex are but a small portion of the mostly upward trend noted in the government's annual report card on child well-being.

Social services professionals agree: Assessments of the nation's children should be as prominent as reports on the economy

The findings, issued by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, are designed to be a broad assessment of the state of the nation's children.

Backers hope the report will become as prominent and important to the president as the annual economic report.

"I would contend that our children are as important to the future of the country as the economy," said Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

"The stock market will never depend on it, but I hope the report will annually at least focus attention on the status and condition of our children."

Correspondents Pat Etheridge and Steve Salvatore and The Associated Press contributed to this report, written by Jim Morris.