Report: Florida rated highly for education, lower for child well-being

(The Center Square) — A recently released report on the well-being of children gave Florida high marks for education but ranked the state poorly for several other measures.

The nonprofit Annie E. Casey Foundation released its annual Kids Count Data Book, and while Florida ranked among the highest for education, overall health, well-being and economic security came near the bottom of the list.

According to the report, Florida ranks 30th overall, family and community in the Sunshine State was 30th, education was fifth, child health was 31st and economic well-being was 42nd.

It was found that key challenges Florida children faced during the 2021-2022 school year that impacted on school success included chronic absenteeism at nearly 35%. The other big challenge for Florida children was one or more adverse childhood experiences, which was nearly 43%.