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

Sussex County ranked second for child health among all 21 counties but was 12th in the area of
education, 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)

As New Jersey elects a new governor and legislature this fall, ACNJ encourages voters to use the data proactively and engage with candidates to make kids' issues a part of the conversation. To learn more about the #NJVotes4Kids campaign, please visit njvotes4kids.org.

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 area of child health, Sussex has the lowest percentage of children born with a low birthweight and
ranks second in the low rate of uninsured children,” said Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of Advocates
for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids Count reports. ““Still, in the coming years, the
county could do better in ensuring more young children are tested for lead. Less than 11 percent of
children under age 6 received a blood lead test in 2015; the state average is about 27 percent.”

Sussex County Ranks:
Seventh in Child and Family Economics: For the 30,000 children that call Sussex County home, 7 percent live in poverty, less than half the state average of 16 percent. Unemployment is 4.7 percent, compared
to New Jersey’s 5 percent. Yet, Sussex County has a higher percentage of rent burdened households
than the state, with 51 percent of households paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

Second in Child Health: Less than 11 percent of Sussex children under age 6 received a blood lead test in
2015; that puts the county second to last on this measure. Sussex County has the second lowest
percentage of kids without health insurance – 1.9 percent—far below the state’s average of 3.7.

Sixth in Safety and Well‐Being: The percentage of teens not in school and not working, sometimes
referred to as idle or disconnected youth, is 5 percent, below the state’s average of 6 percent. In
addition, 8.4 percent of reported cases of child abuse or neglect were substantiated or established in
2015, down from 11.0 in 2011. Sussex County also saw a decline in juvenile arrest rates from 10.7 in
2011 to 7.5 in 2015. Sussex has the fifth lowest juvenile arrest rate in the state.

12th in Education: High school graduation rates for Sussex are higher than the state average, reaching 94
percent. However, participation in the federal school breakfast program and the rate of chronic
absenteeism – students missing 10 percent of more of enrolled school days, show room for
improvement. Twenty‐six percent of low‐income Sussex County students start the day with school
breakfast, placing the county 19th on this indicator. In addition, 11 percent of students are chronically
absent; the state average is 10 percent.

In addition to the county rankings, 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.