R. Reese Fuller

Louisiana: worst state for kids

by R. Reese Fuller

In the U2 song "Crumbs From Your Table," there's a line that goes: "Where you live should not decide, whether you live or whether you die." And according to a new report from the Every Child Matters Education Fund, that is the case. The infant mortality rate in Louisiana is higher than any other state in the nation - more than twice that of Montana and Vermont, the states with the lowest infant mortality rates.

The recent report, Geography Matters: Child Well-Being in the States also considers other issues facing children - like teen pregnancy, uninsured children, abuse fatalities, welfare expenditures and poverty. In most categories, Louisiana ranks in the bottom 10 and ranks dead last in the "Overall Vulnerability Rank."

Read where and how Louisiana ranks or download the 13-page PDF of the entire report.