February 2014
Newark kids make progress over 10 years - Still lag behind peers statewide
Newark children improved in eight of 10 critical measures of child well-being over a 10-year span, but they still face more poverty, health and education issues than children statewide, according to the recently-released Newark Kids Count 2014.
Our annual report on child well-being in New Jersey’s largest city found positive trends in several areas, including teen births and health insurance, but also showed that Newark children are much more likely to live in poverty and encounter other barriers that diminish their chances of growing up safe, healthy and educated.
Read the report.
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, focusing attention on the need for children to receive preventive dental care early on in life. Oral healthcare is an essential part of good healthcare, just as important as immunizations and wellness visits.
Learn about NJ efforts to improve our children’s oral health.
A special forum on how to build on New Jersey’s successful juvenile justice reforms is set for March 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at the National Conference Center Auditorium in East Windsor. The forum will feature state and national leaders in juvenile justice and related fields, as well as renowned professor Laurence Steinberg, nationally-recognized for his research on adolescent brain development.
A panel discussion will feature Juvenile Justice Commission Executive Director Kevin Brown, New Jersey Public Defender Joseph E. Krakora, Judge Glenn Grant, acting director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Children and Families Commissioner Allison Blake, Bart Lubow of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Dr. Steinberg. Be part of this important conversation.
Learn more and register today for this free event!
NJ 4th Graders Score Low on Literacy, Still Ahead of Nation
More than half of New Jersey’s fourth-graders are not reading proficiently by 4th grade – a key predictor of a student’s future educational and economic success, according to a KIDS COUNT® data snapshot, Early Reading Proficiency in the United States, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
If this trend continues, the country will not have enough skilled workers for an increasingly competitive global economy by the end of this decade, the report said.
Read the report.
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