Alyson McCarthy, Reporter
Child Welfare Gets Dismal Grade in Nevada

Jan 19, 2007 03:29 PM PST

A new report card shows Nevada continues to fail its children when it comes to their education, health and safety. Eyewitness News takes a look at what needs to be done to improve the way we care for our kids.

For eight straight years now, the Children's Advocacy Alliance has been sounding the same alarm. If Nevada's policy makers and parents don't start putting our children first, the consequences down the road will be immense both in dollars and desperation.

The group Voices for America's Children says the Nevada report card isn't about finger pointing and assigning blame.

Gard Jameson, Children's Advocacy Alliance, said, "The one question that guides our work everyday is -- is it good for kids?"

And the answer is a resounding "no" when it comes to how Nevada treats its children.

The 2006 report card issued by the Clark County Children's Advocacy Alliance gives Nevada an "F" in education, a "D+" in health, another "D+" in safety and security and a "D-" for issues affecting our teens. A "D-" was the dismal overall grade.

"In the state of Nevada, we're in the top 20-percent for wealth income per capital, but we're in the bottom 10-percent for how we deal with children's issues. That's an unacceptable equation," Jameson continued.

But increased funding is not the only solution according to the alliance, which believes public education is equally as important. Advocates argue there is no excuse for Nevada to receive failing grades for child immunizations, prenatal health care and children's health insurance when our state already offers free or low-cost programs for all of these services.

"There are reasons for hope," Jameson said.

All-day kindergarten and improved community mental health services are important issues our state lawmakers will address in the upcoming session. But our greatest challenge in Nevada may well be how to foster a healthier family culture.

"Until our families and our parents take responsibility for these same issues in their own homes, we're really not going to see much change," Jameson added.

Among some of the most disturbing findings in this latest report card are that Nevada has the worst teen suicide rate and teen drug problem in the nation. Advocates believe these are the tragic consequences of not addressing underlying causes sooner before the problems become too big or it simply becomes too late to solve them.

Nevada only received three good grades on the whole report card: an "A" in children's physical fitness and two "Bs" for our state's infant mortality and child death rates.

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