RFD Center Home About the Center Center Staff Related Links Articles Archive Reports Archive PRB Websites			Rural Kids Lagging in Health, Education Contact: Mark Mather, Population Reference Bureau, 202-939-5433 WASHINGTON — (July 2004) Children in rural America face many of the same challenges that are typically associated with children living in cities—and fare worse than urban kids on several key indicators of child well-being, according to new research conducted by the Population Reference Bureau. Each year, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics issues a report on the well-being of America’s Children. The report highlights household and family characteristics, along with key health, social, and education measures that are linked to child well-being. The Population Reference Bureau compared estimates for children in rural and urban areas for many of the key measures in that report. The findings paint a mixed picture for kids living in rural America (see Table 1). Children in rural areas are better off than their urban counterparts on some measures (English-speaking ability, housing problems) but worse off on many others (secure parental employment, poverty, health status, mortality rates, cigarette, alcohol, and drug use, and education outcomes). Many of these problems are exacerbated by the isolation, lack of jobs, and lack of support services for families living in rural communities. Table 1 Estimates of Child Well-Being Inside and Outside Metropolitan Areas Year Percent U.S. Metro Nonmetro FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS Children living with two married parents 2003 68 68 68 Children 5-17 with difficulty speaking English 2000 7 7 3 FAMILY ECONOMIC SECURITY Related children living in poverty 2002 16 16 20 Related children living in extreme poverty 2002 7 6 7 Related children living in low-income families 2002 22 20 27 Children living with at least one parent employed full time/year-round 2002 78 79 76 Housing problems in households with children 2001 36 37 31 Households reporting child hunger due to food insecurity 2002 0.8 0.8 0.8 Children covered by health insurance 2002 88 88 88 Children with no usual source of health care 2002 6 6 6 HEALTH Children in very good or excellent health 2002 83 84 82 Children 5-17 with activity limitation resulting from chronic conditions 2001 8 8 8 Children 19-35 months with recommended immunization coverage 2002 78 78 77 Deaths per 100,000 children ages 1 to 4 2000 32 30 42 Deaths per 100,000 children ages 5 to 14 2000 18 17 24 Deaths per 100,000 adolescents ages 15 to 19 2000 67 62 87 BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 10th grade students who reported smoking daily in the previous 30 days 2003 9 8 14 10th grade students who reported binge drinking in the last two weeks 2003 22 21 26 10th grade students who have used illicit drugs in the previous 30 days 2003 20 19 22 EDUCATION Teens 16-19 who are neither in school nor working 2003 8 8 10 High school grads 25-29 who have completed a BA or higher 2003 28 30 18 Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: 2000 Census SF3, Current Population Survey (Basic Monthly Survey and March, October, and Food Security Supplements); Department of Housing and Urban Development: American Housing Survey; National Center for Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey, National Immunization Survey, National Vital Statistics System; National Institutes of Health: Monitoring the Future National Survey. The higher mortality rates for children in rural areas are of particular concern. Mortality rates are about 40 percent higher for children and teens living in rural areas. According to Mark Mather, director of the Rural Families Data Center, “higher infant mortality rates are linked to the higher poverty rates, lower education levels, and lack of prenatal care specialists practicing in rural areas. For older children, the higher mortality rates could reflect the greater risk of fatal car accidents on rural roads.” Rural youth are also lagging on key education measures. Teens in rural areas are more likely to be “idle” (detached from school and the workforce), and at older ages only 18 percent of young adults in rural areas have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 30 percent of young adults in urban areas. Each year, many young adults leave rural areas for educational, employment, and social opportunities in metropolitan areas—so this explains part of the rural/urban disparity in education. These findings and additional information about rural children and families will be available in America’s Rural Children, a new publication by the Rural Families Data Center (www.rfdcenter.org), in August 2004. For detailed descriptions of the definitions and data sources used in this analysis, visit the website of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics at www.childstats.gov. This research was supported with a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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