NJ Kids Count Rankings: Hudson County Had 'Mixed Progress,' Report Says

Hudson County ranked ninth for safety and well‐being, but was 16th in the area of child health among all
21 counties, according to the recently released, 2017 New Jersey Kids Count county profiles and pocket guide.

View County Profiles and Ranking

View pocket guide, New Jersey Kids Count 2017: The State of Our Counties

To learn more about the #NJVotes4Kids campaign, visit njvotes4kids.org.

According to the study, the rankings compare counties on 12 measures of "child well‐being" and across four domains – economics, health, safety and well‐being, and education – to 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.

“Hudson has one of the highest child poverty rates in the state, but the county is doing a much better
job providing school breakfast to low‐income students and testing for lead among young children,” said
Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids
Count.

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.

In Hudson County:

• 12th in Child and Family Economics: For the 136,000 children that call Hudson County home, 26 percent live in poverty, the second highest percentage in the state. Unemployment is 4.7 percent, compared to New Jersey's average of 5 percent. In addition, 46 percent of Hudson County households spend 30 percent or more of their income on rent.
• 16th in Child Health: About 37 percent of all Hudson children under age 6 received a blood lead test in 2015, placing the county second overall on this measure. However, with 5.2 percent of children living without health insurance, compared to 3.7 percent of all children in the state, Hudson ranks in the bottom at 19th place.
• 9th in Safety and Well‐Being: The percentage of teens not in school and not working, sometimes referred to as idle or disconnected youth, is 7 percent, exceeding the state’s average of 6 percent. The county saw a decrease in substantiated or established cases of child abuse and neglect between 2011 and 2015, dropping from 13.9 percent to 9.5 percent. Consistent with statewide declines, Hudson County also saw a decrease in juvenile arrests rates from 12.4 in 2011 to 8.7 in 2015.
• 10th in Education: Hudson County’s 83 percent high school graduation rate is significantly lower than New Jersey’s graduation rate of 90 percent. Additionally, 12 percent of students are chronically absent in Hudson County, meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days. Fifty‐five percent of low‐income Hudson County students start the day with school breakfast however, placing the county third on this indicator.

To read the reports, visit www.acnj.org

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