NJ Kids Count Rankings: Union County Ranks 10th in Education, 16th in Child Health

Union County showed mixed progress, placing 10th in the state for education but ranking 16th 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)

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 Union County, where more than 20,000 children live in families struggling to make ends meet,
county leaders could do better in ensuring more children have access to health insurance. The county’s
rate of uninsured children is the second highest in the state,” said Cecilia Zalkind, president and CEO of
Advocates for Children New Jersey, which produces the state Kids Count reports. “On a positive note,
Union ranks fourth in lead testing for young children; 33 percent children under age 6 received a blood
lead test in 2015.”

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.

Union County Ranks:
13th in Child and Family Economics: For the nearly 132,000 children that call Union County home, 16
percent live in poverty, in line with the state average. Unemployment is 5.2 percent, just above New
Jersey’s 5 percent. Fifty‐one percent of Union County households have high rent burdens, meaning they
spend 30 percent or more of their incomes on rent costs.

16th in Child Health: A high percentage of Union County children under age 6, about 33 percent,
received a blood lead test in 2015, putting the county fourth overall on this measure. However, the
percentage of kids without health insurance – 6.0 percent, falls well above the state average of 3.7
percent, causing Union to fall second to last place on this indicator.

12th 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, slightly higher than the state’s average of 6
percent. In addition, 10.5 percent of reported cases of child abuse or neglect were substantiated or
established in 2015, down from 12.4 in 2011. Union County also saw a decrease in juvenile arrest rates
from 12.8 in 2011 to 8.5 in 2015.

10th in Education: Union’s 89 percent high school graduation rate falls just below the state’s rate of 90
percent. Forty‐five percent of low‐income Union County students start the day with school breakfast,
placing the county 11th on this indicator. In line with the state average, about 10 percent of students are
chronically absent, meaning they miss 10 percent or more of enrolled school days.

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.