Cumberland County ranks 21st of New Jersey's 21 counties in terms of overall child well-being, and Atlantic and Cape May counties also rank poorly, according to the New Jersey Kids Count annual rankings released Monday. The survey, which is published by Advocates for Children of New Jersey, compares counties on 15 measures including child poverty, health, safety and education.
Cumberland - which ranked 20th last year - slipped to last place due to a combination of increasing childhood poverty, students having the lowest passing rates for state tests and an increased infant mortality rate.
"This significant rise in child poverty is alarming, despite other statistics that suggest Cumberland families may be at the start of a recovery," said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey. Zalkind said Cumberland's unemployment rate dropped slightly but that median family income increased from $49,394 to $54,345. The report says 23 percent of the about 39,000 children in Cumberland live in poverty. The county ranked 20th in that category. Passaic County, where about 26 percent of children live in poverty, placed last. Additionally, Cumberland had the highest percentage - about 16 percent - of births to girls ages 10 to 19. The statewide average is 7 percent.
Other southern New Jersey counties showed mixed results in this year's rankings. While Atlantic and Ocean counties showed improvement, moving up from 21 to 19 and from 14 to 13, respectively, Cape May dropped from 15 to 18. Atlantic County posted improvements in the percentage of children living in poverty, an increase in median family income and a decrease in the number of households spending "too much" on rent. Despite the improvements, Atlantic County dropped one spot to 15 in the percent of children who pass state-issued eighth-grade tests. Of all 21 counties, Cape May, with about 96,000 residents, showed the largest change in ranking by dropping to 18 overall.
Cape May has the highest unemployment rate in New Jersey at 13 percent. Additionally, the median family income dropped from $76,000 in 2008 to $53,000 in 2009, the latest year for which there was data.
"Clearly, Cape May County families are struggling financially," Zalkind said. "But the positive improvement in eighth-grade test scores and the drop in infant mortality are positive signs."Cape May went from 20th overall to 7th in eighth-grade test scores in the 2009-10 school year. Eight-two percent of eighth-graders that year passed state-issued tests compared with the state overage of 78 percent.
Georgia Dougherty, youth advocate and volunteer coordinator with the Coalition Against Rape and Abuse in the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, said the report is necessary because it brings a fact-based awareness of child well-being. "The community needs to be aware that there are issues," Dougherty said. Dougherty said the coalition offers programs to county children and their parents that support healthy relationships, but that the programs are not well-attended and children may not be getting the enrichment they need.
Additionally, she said a child's well being can be enhanced through various avenues but that as county residents struggle with a high rate of unemployment and shrinking paychecks, those choices are limited.
Dougherty said summer camps and other child-centric programs are too expensive for parents to afford.
Lastly, Ocean County climbed one ranking to 13th overall.
The largest improvement in the county was the 3 percentage-point decrease of children living in poverty from 16 percent in 2008 to 13 percent in 2009, the report states. "Looking at child trends in each county can really help identify where children and families are struggling and can assist county leaders in responding to pressing issues," Zalkind said.