Report Card on the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Philadelphia

Posted by on June 25, 2007

Report Card on the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Philadelphia

If you need a reason to get involved, just read, or read about, this report:

“More babies are dying. More teens are getting shot and killed, and more are getting cuffed by cops. And a greater number of kids are living in poverty or are homeless with no health insurance.”

According to the Daily News, “the report, produced for the city by Philadelphia Safe and Sound, tracks trends in the well-being of children, from birth through high school. Mayor Street was to release the report to the public today.

While none of the previous reports has been entirely rosy, this one seems darker than its predecessors, particularly in the realm of child safety.

The report-card researchers gave the city its worst rating in a category gauging child safety: 5, for “problematic” and “very troubling.”

In fact, the city earned the highest possible score in only one area. The report card noted a “striking decline” in the number of children with elevated blood-lead levels in 2006 – a 69 percent decrease since 1998. Yet Street tempered his satisfaction over the “commendable” rating.”

It’s hard to believe we’re the richest country in the world, yet 30 percent of Philadelphia’s children live in poverty.

http://www.philasafesound.org/publications/publist_reportcard.php