What’s the smartest investment Georgia can make?
Georgia has much going for it… Solid Industrial Base Fortune 500 Companies Culture/Recreation Government/Academic Institutions …so why aren’t our kids faring as well?
GA Child Health Outcomes HEALTH INDICATORGEORGIAU.S. GA: Better or Worse? KIDSCOUNT RANKING Number of Children < 18 years2,268,47772,894,4833% of nat’l pop. % Low Birth Weight Babies Infant Mortality Rate (deaths per 1,000 live births) Child Death Rate (deaths per 100,000 children ages 1-14) Teen ViolentDeath Rate (deaths per 100,000 ages 15-19) Teen Pregnancy (# births/1000 teen girls ages 15-19) *Data from Kidscount 2004 Data Book
How would we know if our children’s health is improving?
Indicators of child health Respect developmental stages Reflect all Georgia children Race and ethnicity Physical and mental ability All income levels Describe the child, not the system
GA Children’s Health Insurance Status *Data from U.S. Census Bureau and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and SCHIP
Focusing on Indicators Healthcare Georgia Foundation grant efforts: Contract review Georgia Healthy Families monitoring Quality Measures review Advisory committee Survey Child Health Indicator development and reporting
Be a powerful voice for Georgia’s children! Visit us at: Lauren Waits, Policy Director Voices for Georgia’s Children