Las Vegas NowNevada is Above National Average in Child Deaths

Nevada is Above National Average in Child Deaths

A new report shows some progress being made among Nevada's children. The Kids Count data book was released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which keeps track of America's children.

The report ranks Nevada 33rd in overall child well-being for 2004 and 2005. That's an improvement from the 2003-2004 numbers when the Silver State ranked 36th.

The results were based on ten key indicators.

Nevada has worsened in four areas, including more low birth weight babies and more children in poverty. But the state improved in four areas, including the child death rate and the number of high school drop outs.

Everything from homicides to natural causes was calculated to determine the state's child death rate. But there's still some work to do.

Even though Nevada has improved since 2000, the state is still above the national average in child death rates, but not by much.

In 2000, Nevada had 23 child deaths for every 100,000 children. In 2004, that number went down to 21 deaths for every 100,000. The national average is at 20 deaths.

The improvement may seem odd especially since Clark County has seen a rise in child deaths in recent years, but experts say thankfully the child death rate has not kept up with the rapid population growth in Clark County.

Director Tom Morton, of the Department of Family Services, says while the growth helps improve Nevada's death rate numbers in children, the shifting population can also hurt the overall well-being of Nevada kids.

Morton said, "This is a community that has a lot people move in and a lot of people move out, and I think probably has a lot of people who didn't move here for the idea of calling this home. Therefore, I'm going to invest in making my home community and good community for families."

The DFS director says a number of programs have been initiated in the county to bring Nevada down to the national average, including educating parents on drowning and heat-related deaths, as well as improving the Child Protective Services division within the county.

Although the Kids Count report shows an improvement in child rate deaths, the number of deaths in teenagers has gotten worse.

E-mail your comments to Reporter Melissa Duran.