NJ Kids Count Rankings: Gloucester County Posts Mixed Progress for Child Well‐Being

Gloucester County posted mixed progress, placing eighth in the state for education but ranking 21st in
the area of child health, according to the annual New Jersey Kids Count county profiles and pocket guide
released today.

View County Profiles and Ranking

View pocket guide, New Jersey Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties
(county-by-county trend data on 40 indicators of child health and well-being)

The rankings, which compare counties on 12 measures of child well‐being, and across four domains –
economics, health, safety and well‐being, and education – provide a closer look at how children are
faring in various parts of the state, often revealing a range of outcomes depending on where they live.
The pocket guide, NJ Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties provides county‐by‐county child trend
data across 40 measures of child well‐being.

“In the coming years, Gloucester County could do better in ensuring more young children are tested for
lead. Less than 8 percent of children under age 6 received a blood lead test in 2015. The county’s rate of
uninsured children – 5 percent ‐ is also higher than the state average of 3.7 percent,” said Cecilia
Zalkind, president and CEO of Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids Count
reports.

Zalkind said that she hopes community leaders can use the data to recognize areas of concern and
target resources to improve the lives of children in their county.

Gloucester County Ranks:

11th in Child and Family Economics: For the nearly 66,000 children that call Gloucester County home,
eight percent live in poverty, compared to the state average of 16 percent. The unemployment rate, at
5.1 percent, is slightly above the state’s 5 percent. Rental costs prove to be a burden to many
Gloucester households as 57 percent spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent.

21st in Child Health: Less than 8 percent of children under age 6 received a blood lead test in 2015 in
Gloucester County, putting the county at the lowest rank in the state on this measure. The percentage
of babies born with low birth weights– 8.0 percent, is just below the state’s average of 8.1.

12th in Safety and Well‐Being: Exceeding the state’s average of 10.5 percent, 15.6 percent of children
with reported cases of child abuse or neglect were substantiated or established in 2015. Gloucester
County saw a dramatic decrease in juvenile arrest rates from 19.2 in 2011 to 8 in 2015, following a
statewide trend of declining juvenile arrest rates.

8th in Education: Gloucester boasts a 92 percent high school graduation rate, higher than New Jersey’s
rate of 90 percent. Thirty‐nine percent of low‐income Gloucester County students start the day with
school breakfast, placing the county 13th on this indicator. Also, eight percent of students are chronically
absent, meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days.

In addition to the county profiles and pocket guide, Advocates for Children of New Jersey also released
New Jersey Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Children, in May, which provides state‐level data in all
areas of child well‐being.

To read the reports, visit www.acnj.org.
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KIDS COUNT is a national and state‐by‐state statistical effort to track the state of children in the United
States, sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Advocates for Children of New Jersey is a statewide
child research and action organization and the New Jersey Kids Count grantee.