Iowa leads nation in child health

Iowa's No. 1 when it comes to children's health.

That's just one piece of good news for the state from the nationwide 2014 Kids Count report, which the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Tuesday. The data comes from federal statistical agencies, the foundation said.

Iowa rose to third place in the nation from seventh in 2013 in overall rankings, which are based on 16 measurements in four categories — economic well being, education, health and family and community — and boosted its standing in each one.

'We have improved in some areas, which is important, and we continue to do so, which I think is a very good sign for the state,' said Mike Crawford, director of Iowa Kids Count. 'I think it's a continuation of progress that's been made over the last few years.'

Iowa jumped from seventh in health to first. Crawford largely attributed that leap to Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (HAWK-I), the state's medical and dental insurance program for low-income children, though the state saw gains in all four metrics:

•Fewer low-birthweight babies

•Fewer children without health insurance

•Fewer child and teen deaths

•A decrease in the rate of teens abusing alcohol or drugs.

Michele Canfield, who handles HAWK-I outreach in Linn, Benton and Jones counties, said the Kids Count findings did not surprise her.

'Our program is similar but a little bit better than other states',' she said. 'It is quality insurance, top of the line and it is offered as such.

'It is not offered as health care coverage that is 'less than' for those that are 'less than.' I think Iowa holds all of their citizens equally in importance. …

There is an honor and dignity in the entire program in what is offered and how it is being offered.'

Changes to the program's income restrictions have allowed it to serve more people, Canfield said. She also praised school nurses for their role in the success.

'They are very involved not only in the children's lives but the families' lives. People are very comfortable turning to school nurses when there's a lack of insurance and the school nurse is wonderful in referring them to resources,' Canfield said. 'The school nurses really lead the way in passing along the information to families and also the resources.'

Mixed achievements

Iowa managed to become third in economic well being, up from fifth in 2013, despite seeing dips in three of four areas. In 2013, Iowa had more children living in poverty, more children whose parents lack secure employment and more teens working instead of being in school than the state had in 2012.

'It doesn't mean we've improved in a lot of other areas,' Crawford said about the overall ranking. 'Sometimes the other states go down.'

He noted that the national economic situation remains difficult and the effect in Iowa has not been as bad as the blow other states have weathered — hence the uptick in Iowa's standing.

Iowa is in the top 10 in three of the four categories — health, economic well being and family and community — and moved up two spots in education, to 13th in 2013.

Iowa showed gains in all four areas measured related to education — more children attending preschool, more fourth-graders proficient in reading, more eighth-graders proficient in math and more high-schoolers graduating on time.

'I think the difference between us and other states is that we're not improving as fast as they are,' Crawford said. 'We need to look and see if we can do things better.'

One thing he'd like to see happen is increased subsidies to encourage more children, particularly from low-income families, to attend preschool.

'I think that will help them down the road as they go through their school years,' Crawford said.

He stressed that the true message from the Kids Count report is to view Iowa in context with itself over time as opposed to gauging its progress annually against other states.

'If you're looking at a state itself, very little changes year to year,' Crawford said. 'I think you need to have that or maybe a 10-year span to see if there's policy changes in place. …

To really look and analyze, I think you need to have a gap.'