Though elected officials like to talk about the progress Ohio has made with children and families, the reality is harder to swallow. In its annual "Kids Count Data Profile," the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranked the state 31st in the nation for 2022.
Ohio has nearly half a million children living in poverty, more than 700,000 children whose parents lack secure employment, 625,000 kids living in households with a high housing cost burden and 37,000 teenagers not in school and not working.
Each year there are nearly 11,000 low birth-weight babies born here; more than 120,000 kids without health insurance; and 763 child and teen deaths each year.
Nearly 900,000 children live in single-parent families; more than 280,000 kids live in high-poverty areas; and there are more than 6,400 teen births annually.
Meanwhile, chronic absenteeism in schools has seen a dramatic increase.
"There are still many uncertainties and challenges that lie ahead of us, but one thing is clear: we must do our best to ensure (children) are properly cared for in the midst of this pandemic," Tracy Najera, state director for the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio, told the Ohio Capital Journal.
That's harder to do when few elected officials are willing to admit there is a problem. Many of them are too busy talking about how to keep our kids from learning too much without worrying about whether we're doing right for those kids as they grow up.
The study shows it is well past time they start taking this seriously.