Child Well-Being Mixed Bag In Upper Cumberland Counties

Six Upper Cumberland counties ranked among the top half of counties statewide in child well-being and six ranked among the bottom half.

That according to a report by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth released Tuesday. The report measured child development in each county based on 52 indicators.

Smith County ranked ninth, the best score among the region’s counties. White County graded 35th in the state while Van Buren County ranked 37th. Dekalb County scored lowest among Upper Cumberland communities, ranking 83rd in child well-being. Warren County rated 75th in the state.

Putnam County ranked 51st, among the bottom half of counties statewide.

The rankings looked at economic factors such as housing affordability, child care costs and insurance. Educational components included reading and math proficiency and on-time graduations. The report also examined community factors such as chronic absenteeism and single-parent households.

Clay County saw the state’s highest reported number of children who were victims of abuse or neglect. Pickett County reported the highest percentage of children not covered by health insurance. Putnam County had one of the ten highest burdens of child care costs in the state.