Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Connection
Photo: Pennsylvania would need to lift 198,000 children out of poverty to rank first in the nation for the lowest child poverty rate. (luckybusiness/Adobe Stock)

Pennsylvania ranks 20th in the nation for overall child well-being, in the new 2025 Kids Count Data Book.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation report ranks states on how kids are doing in terms of economic well-being, education, health and more.

Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, said despite the state’s rank of 20th for children’s health, it still has about 147,000 kids who are uninsured. King stressed the importance of Medicaid and warned proposals in Congress to reduce federal Medicaid spending by about $800 billion could jeopardize children’s access to health care.

“We are making sure that we’re lifting up in Pennsylvania: 1.2 million kids receive their health insurance through Medicaid and it’s providing health insurance to individuals in the state,” King explained. “It’s so important for kids, to make sure that they’re growing and developing in a healthy way.”

The report ranked Pennsylvania 22nd in the nation for kids economic well-being. It said in 2023, about 16% of children in the state lived in poverty. That’s roughly 404,000 kids with household incomes below $30,000 a year for a family of four.

King pointed out many children benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which would also face major cuts in the big budget bill passed by the U.S. House and now awaiting a vote in the Senate.

“The bill proposes $300 million in cuts to the SNAP program, which again, is very concerning,” King emphasized. “In Pennsylvania, 24% of kids and young adults — so, those under the age of 21 — receive a SNAP benefit. That’s about 760,000 young Pennsylvanians.”

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said the nation cannot lose sight of the racial disparities seen in the indicators, particularly among Black, Latino and Native American children.

“For example, the child well-being outcomes on 15 out of 16 indicators, for Native kids, are lower than the national average,” Boissiere pointed out. “If you look at Black kids, it’s 8 out of 16 indicators, where Black kids’ outcomes are lower than the national average.”

Boissiere noted investing in today’s kids is investing in the nation and in a strong economy because they are tomorrow’s workforce.