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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2011
POVERTY
Kansas' children rankings fall in youth study
BOBBY BURCH
bburch@kansan.com
Nearly one in five Kansas children live in poverty, according to a recent state-by-state study on the well-being of the nation's youth.
The national study, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation last Wednesday, reported that Kansas fell six positions — the largest slip of any state — to 19th in child well-being.
"It's really disturbing," Lauren Beatty, communications specialist of Kansas Action for Children, said.
Beatty said the new data, which lags behind by two years, is now showing signs of the nation's struggling economy.
"It really reflects the impact of the recession," Beatty said, "Clearly it's having a negative impact on our kids."
The Casey Foundation establishes rankings by evaluating a state's performance in 10 indicators that reflect child poverty, such as the number of uninsured children, infant mortality and single-parent families. According
to the study, Kansas is among 38 states in which child poverty has increased from 2000 to 2009, yet remains slightly below the national average of 20 percent.
Kansas did, however, drop to 40th in the nation in infant mortality and is the worst in the country in African-American infant mortality, according the Kansas Blue Ribbon Panel on Infant Mortality.
N e w Hampshire topped the study's list for best overall child well-being, followed by Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont respectively. Mississippi ranked last.
Kansas the 9th lowest percent in the nation.
-Seven percent of Kansas teens are not attending school and not working, with Kansas having the eighth lowest percent in the nation.
-25 percent of Kansas children live in families in which no parent has full-time, year-round employment, ranking Kansas the eighth best state in the nation.
"We have to protect programs that protect our children, especially when we're seeing this trend of things continuing to get worse."
LAUREN BEATTY Communications Specialist
The study also highlighted many of Kansas' improvements, including a top 10 ranking in three of the indicators:
-Only five percent of Kansas teens are not in school and are not high school graduates, giving
Gov. Sam Brownback said that reducing child poverty is one of five goals in his plan entitled "Roadmap for Kansas." Despite such efforts, the number of poverty-stricten children in the state continues to grow.
In Kansas, the number of children in poverty increased nearly 18 percent, from 100,000 in 2008 to 121,000 in 2009.
But many kids in Lawrence face a much bleaker reality than the state average of child pow-
erty, according to information provided by the Kansas State Department of Education.
Of the 11,374 students enrolled in Lawrence USD 497 last school year, nearly a third qualified under poverty guidelines, a 12 percent increase from the 2007- 2008 school year.
In conjunction with rising poverty rates, the number of homeless students in Lawrence K — 12th grade schools has increased nearly 12 percent during the last year. 178 students self-reported their homeless status during the 2010-2011 school years, according to Ellen Willets, homeless liaison of Lawrence Public Schools.
"There's just more unemployment," said Willets.
While the nation's economic stability remains to be a concern for many, Beatty said the state must continue to fight for the well-being of Kansas' children.
"We have to protect programs that protect our children," Beatty said, "especially when we're seeing this trend of things continuing to get worse."
Edited by Stefanie Penn
GOOD NEWS
Top 10 ranking among 50 states in three indicators
9th Percent of teens not in school and not high school graduates
8th Percent of teams not attending school and not working
Percent of children living in families in which no parent has full-time, year-round employment
MORGAN LAFORGE/KANSAN
Katy Nichols, left, chats with Angela Vann as they sit outside their current residence, Lawrence Community Shelter, Monday evening. A large number of students K-12 in Lawrence are currently living below the poverty line, a new report suggests.
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Fellowship awarded to KU professors
CAMPUS
outstanding faculty chosen by a seven-member selection committee. Supported by gifts from the William T. Kemper Foundation and matching funds from KU Endowment, the awards are in their 16th year. To see video of the surprise patrol visiting the professors, visit www.news.ku.edu/2011/august/23/kemper.
Today, a "surprise patrol" from the Office of the Provost presented a $7,500 Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence award to four University professors, according to the Office of Public Affairs.
Anna Neill, associate professor
of English, Andrea Herstowski, associate professor of design, Robert Ward, IV, associate professor of molecular biosciences and Arvin Agah, professor of electrical engineering and computer science joined yesterday's winner, Jorge Perez, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese, who was also surprised with a Kemper Fellowship. The awards recognize
Local researcher studies mancession
CAMPUS
The 2008 recession is sometimes called the "mancession" because it has left more men than women out of work. At the end of 2010, the unemployment rate for men was 10.5 percent and 8.6 percent for women, according to the United States Department of Labor.
One University researcher found that joblessness affects men's masculine identity. Llana Demantas, a doctoral student in sociology at the University, interviewed 20 unemployed men and found that many have proudly embraced domestic chores such as housework and childcare. Others suffered from depression.
-Ian Cummings
"Usually men see themselves as supporters of the family, and since a lot of them are no longer able to do that alone on their income," Demantas said in a press release. "They have to construct their identity in a new way to allow them to still think positively of themselves."
Demantas worked with Kristin Meyers, a professor at Northern Illinois University, and she will present her findings to the
American Sociological Association this year. Demantas said the men were maintaining their self-image through what they once viewed as "women's work."
Meanwhile, she said, men were grateful for wives who remained employed.
"One subject said of his wife 'If she weren't working, I'd be sleeping in a car or something.' Demantas said. "One of the subjects said he woke up early and made coffee for his wife because it was the one nice thing he could do for her since he wasn't contributing economically."
In August, the difference in unemployment rates was less than before. The DOL reported 9 percent unemployment for men and 7.9 percent for women. But Demantas said masculinity had permanently changed during the recession.
"Men's identities have changed," Demantas said. "They're proud to contribute to the household, to make up for the work their wives are doing. Yet, they still maintain household authority, holding onto their identities as 'men' any way they can."
— Ian Cummings