Local News
State infant mortality rates among lows
Georgia has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation, according to data compiled by a children’s advocacy group.
In 2004, the state’s infant mortality rate was 8.5 per 1,000 births, ranking Georgia 43rd in the nation. Hispanics had the lowest infant mortality rate in the state, just 3 per 1,000, while blacks had the worst ranking with 14 deaths per 1,000. The white infant mortality rate was 7 per 1,000.
Those and other statistics on Georgia children are contained in the Georgia 2006 Kids Count data book. The Family Connection Partnership, a nonprofit group created by the state, compiled those statistics. The group brought local elected officials, service providers and others to Dalton State College on Friday to discuss children’s issues.
“We want to inform local leaders so they can take part in discussions to prioritize issues affecting children and families,” said Taifa Butler, director of public affairs for the partnership.
The data show that Georgia ranks near the bottom of the nation in a number of measures of child welfare.
• The high school dropout rate is one of the three highest in the nation.
• The teen pregnancy rate is one of the eight highest in the nation.
• The percentage of low-birth weight babies is among the 10 highest in the nation.
• The percentage of teenagers not in school and not working is among the nine highest in the nation.
And the Northwest Georgia area, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties, ranks near the bottom of the state in several of those measures.
For instance, the statewide rate of substantiated incidents of child abuse or neglect was 23.1 per 1,000 in 2003. But in Murray County it was 40.4 and in Whitfield County it was 26.7.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s teen pregnancy rate was 40.1 per 1,000 in 2003. Whitfield County’s teen pregnancy rate was 63.6 per 1,000, and Murray County’s was 60.1.
“One concern I have is that while the (overall) teen pregnancy rate doesn’t seem to be going up, we seem to be seeing more very young girls becoming pregnant,” said Cheryl Christie, manager of the Whitfield County Health Department.
Participants were also informed about several possible policy changes that may affect children.
Lauren Waits, policy director of Voices for Georgia’s Children, said legislation will be introduced in the next session of the General Assembly to expand PeachCare to cover all children. PeachCare currently provides health coverage for children in low-income families.
Waits said currently some 300,000 Georgia children lack health insurance of any type, including PeachCare. That is, she said, equal to the total number of prekindergarten students, kindergarten students and first-graders put together.
She said 84 percent of those children are in working families and almost three-fourths are in low- or moderate-income families, which she defined as a household income of $40,000 for a family of four. And she said most of those children without health coverage live in two-parent homes.
- Local News
-
-
New Hope Middle awarded recycling cart
Recycling Ben, mascot for the Target Recycling program, presented the seventh-grade class at New Hope Middle School an award for having the highest recycling rate during the second quarter of the 2009-2010 school year.
-
Brochu: ‘They came to me and recruited me’
Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Katie Brochu didn’t apply to become superintendent of a South Carolina school district — she was recruited there, she said.
-
Murray high schools reach field use agreement
John Raley is not happy North Murray High School is being charged $200 per baseball game to play at Appalachian Community Bank Stadium, Murray County High School’s home field.
-
Dalton native earns Seabee honor
Cynthia Pendley said she and her family were “shocked” when her brother, David Akins, came home and told them he had enlisted in the Navy at age 19.
-
Name not released by Whitfield school system
The Whitfield County Board of Education is scheduled to hold a public hearing Thursday under the Georgia Fair Dismissal Act.
-
Residents wary of scams
Dalton Police cited two men on Wednesday for trying to sell magazine subscriptions for troops deployed overseas without a city license.
-
Dawn seeks to change guilty plea
A personal care home manager who was sentenced to prison for stealing drugs from senior residents has asked for a hearing to change his plea to not guilty.
-
Stephens says voters are concerned about future
Voters are very concerned “and even a little bit scared” about where the United States is going as a country, says former Georgia Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens.
-
DPD looks for “hot” wheels
The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating and identifying a thief who stole a set of Ballistic-brand wheels worth $3,000 from the bed of the owner’s truck on March 3.
-
Habitat groundbreaking Saturday
The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at 1791 Carter Drive on Saturday at 9 a.m. to launch the building of a home for the Edgar Gutierrez family. The George R. Johnson Foundation is sponsor for the building of this house.
- More Local News Headlines
-
