The well-being of children in the U.S. has improved in 11 of 16 measures, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a philanthropy focused on children's well-being that has tracked well-being data since 1990.
Factors related to economic well-being, education, family and community, and health are factored into the Casey Foundation's regular report on children's well-being in the U.S.
In the health domain, the foundation tracked some positive and some negative trends.
For example, low birth-weight babies increased in 2017 for the third year in a row. Health insurance coverage dropped for children between 2016 and 2017, the first drop in coverage in the past decade, according to the report. However, 95 percent of children in the nation have health insurance.
Teen substance abuse rates are low, and death rates for children and teens have remained steady since 2010. However, mortality rates are much higher for African American children and teens than youth of other racial and ethnic groups, according to the report.
Here are the top 13 states for children's health, as ranked by the Casey Foundation:
- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- New York
- Minnesota
- California
- Iowa
- Vermont
- Hawaii
- Washington
- Pennsylvania
- Connecticut
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10 best children's hospitals, ranked by US News
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