Kentucky continues to have higher rates of children in poverty, teen pregnancies, and child and teen deaths than the national average, according to the KIDS COUNT Data Book released Monday.
The state also followed national trends of poor academic performance, following pandemic-era learning loss according to the data, which reflects 2024 statistics.
On several metrics, Kentucky did slightly improve, moving towards a smaller percentage of children living in poverty, defined as a household living below the federal poverty level.
However, Executive Director Terry Brooks of Kentucky Youth Advocates warned there’s a lot more to do before the state can rest easy. He pointed to teen births in 2023. While the state has improved in terms of teen pregnancies, the rate is still far higher than the national average — 21 teen births out of 1,000 in Kentucky versus 13 at the national level.
“The good news is we've improved. The bad news is we still do not fare favorably on a national basis,” Brooks said. “That's a great example of a data point where we need to take some pride and applaud progress, but we can't be content with that progress because it's not enough.”
One of the most frightening statistics showed a marked 28% increase in child and teen deaths in 2023 compared to 2019. Kentucky is above the national average on that statistic too.
Brooks attributed the increase in part to an alarming rise in youth suicide; nationally, suicide deaths among 10 to 24 year olds increased 62% between 2007 and 2021, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brooks said accidental firearm deaths and ingestion of medicines and illegal drugs also play a significant role.
“Certainly you can't ignore community violence and youth suicide in general, but when I look at that stat and I dig into it, the two avenues to change that metric are really very common sense, very much about responsible parenting,” Brooks said. “There's an alarming number of children who die from guns at home that have not been safely stored, and they also are dying from ingestion of drugs.”
However, there were also a few bright spots in the data. Kentucky has one of the highest percentages of children with health insurance in the country and more high school students graduating on time. Fewer Kentucky children are growing up in homes where the household head lacks a high school diploma as well, falling to 9% in 2023.
Brooks said he hopes lawmakers and the governor will focus most heavily on reducing the number of children who grow up impoverished in the state. While the percentage has improved slightly in the past few years, Kentucky is still ranked 44th among states.
“That is the canary in the coal mine,” Brooks said. “What we know is that if today is a typical day in Kentucky, and one in five kids have awakened to live in poverty. That's going to impact every other aspect of their life.”
Educational Outcomes
The report continued to highlight academic scores backsliding in Kentucky and nationally, with more than two-thirds of 4th graders scoring below proficient in reading and more than three in four 8th graders scoring below proficient in math. The 2024 scores highlight the learning loss of the pandemic era, which caused significant regression across the country.
Brooks said he hopes the state’s leaders focus more on improving these scores instead of culture war issues.
“The legislative branch and the executive branch need to stop chasing every hot button political, social issue and putting them in the classroom,” Brooks said. “What we're not talking about in Frankfort is reading, writing and arithmetic, and it's about time for us to tackle that.”
He called for additional investment in recruiting and retaining teachers and child mental and behavioral health. Brooks also pointed to an increasing number of young children who are not in early education programs. Between 2019 and 2023, almost two-thirds of Kentucky 3 and 4 year olds were not in school.
The role of the state government in bolstering early childhood education is a fraught one in Frankfort, splitting the Republican supermajority. GOP Sen. Danny Carroll of Paducah sponsored a bill in 2024 that would have provided $300 million of funding for child care, but it failed to gain traction. Meanwhile, some liberty-wing Republicans believe that increasing spending on child care is “not the proper role of government.”
Democrats have made universal pre-K a key part of their platform, although Republican leadership has shown little to no appetite for such a program. Earlier this month, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear launched a new campaign for universal pre-K ahead of the 2026 legislative session, where lawmakers will craft next year’s budget.
Brooks described the arguments over child care as “unusually divisive.” He said there are many approaches and he hopes lawmakers will look into an array of options to improve early childhood education.
“There's not a single solution. Instead, what we need is a robust mixed delivery model where childcare is high quality and highly accessible,” Brooks said. “I would love to see what would happen if there was heavy investment in 4 year olds initially… I will be willing to make a bet with you that in four more years, when those youngins are third graders, you're going to see reading scores change again, not just because of pedagogy or curriculum, but because of those early experiences.”
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
