N.H. gets high marks in survey of states regarding under-served kids, Maine not so much

With August being Child Support Awareness Month and children in need experiencing even more risk than usual due to COVID-19, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020's States with the Most Underprivileged Children.

In order to bring awareness to the condition of underprivileged children throughout the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key measures of neediness. The data set ranges from share of children in households with below-poverty income to child food-insecurity rate to share of maltreated children.

Key Stats

• Louisiana has the highest child food-insecurity rate, 24.60 percent, which is 2.6 times higher than in North Dakota, the state with the lowest at 9.60 percent.
• Mississippi has the most infant deaths (per 1,000 live births), eight, which is two times more than in New Hampshire, the state with the fewest at four.
• West Virginia has the highest share of children in foster care, 1.91 percent, which is 7.3 times higher than in Virginia, the state with the lowest at 0.26 percent.
• Texas has the highest share of uninsured children aged 0 to 18, 10.60 percent, which is 8.2 times higher than in Massachusetts, the state with the lowest at 1.30 percent.
• Kentucky has the highest share of maltreated children, 2.34 percent, which is 13.8 times higher than in Pennsylvania, the state with the lowest at 0.17 percent.

To view the full report and your state or the District's rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-underprivileged-children/5403/