Kids Count or so we say. In practice, Americans spend more time substantiating that kids can count and do little to show that the actual child matters.

While many might reflect on their personal circumstances and argue that children count, there is another dynamic to consider. Do children who are not your offspring matter? Do you see a relationship between your child, and other young folks? What about the relationship you have with kids who are not your own,, and how does that affect society? Indeed, to the millions who are childless, might you see the deeper connection? Have you been afforded an opportunity to realize the forest, the whole, is greater than the sum of its parts? Perhaps, if kids count, they count towards the future. Our little ones are the genesis for the Seventh Generation.

With that in mind, let us look at the to the numbers and assess. The annual KIDS COUNT Data Book published in June 2013, will help us to do that. However, sadly, what we see paints a bleak portrait. Broad brush strokes overstate reality.

In Florida alone “Kids Count” takes on many meanings. The same is true in every other state. Why might this be?

Most believe good governance grows great kids, kids that count. If you do then you might attribute what occurs to the economic health under a Governor, a House or a Senate. In some States, Florida among these, one political Party has control. The Governor Rick Scott is able to exert his clout. The results are poor. And children suffer.

Let us count.
Economically, the Everglades State ranks 45th in the nation, to be exact.

  • In Rick Scott’s Florida, one out of every four children lives in poverty.
  • In Rick Scott’s Florida, more than one in three children have parents who lack job security.
  • In Rick Scott’s Florida, nearly half of all children live in a household that struggle to pay the rent.

Rick Scott has a proven track record of putting big business and special interests ahead of the needs of Florida’s children. He cut over $1 billion in K-12 funding and hundreds of millions in higher education funding, and he has put millions in corporate welfare. The Orlando-Senteniel offers one of many stories that illustrates, in tough economic times, the Governor puts corporate interests ahead of children’s needs. Do kids count when…

Traditional public schools in Florida will get no money from the state this year for additions or needed repairs to thousands of aging buildings, but charter schools will score big.

All of the state cash budgeted for school construction and maintenance is going to the independent, tax-financed charters favored by the Republican-dominated Legislature and Gov.Rick Scott.

Might the same be true in your State? Search the database and share.

KIDS COUNT STATE RANKINGS
The KIDS COUNT Data Book tracks the well-being of the nation’s children state by state using a comprehensive index. The KIDS COUNT index includes child-level indicators across four domains:

Overall
KIDS COUNT overall rank
Economic Well-Being

Education
Health
Family & Community

States are ranked in the four areas which are combined to calculate how states rank overall on child well-being.

As a society we profess to believe that every child makes a difference. Consistently, in personal conversations and at political conventions Americans state there is a need for equal and equitable education for all. But then, according to the numbers, something is lost in translation. Do kids count? Can our youth count on us to help them survive and ultimately thrive?

Please never forget that every one, and every aspect of life, our children count!