NCJ Number
145352
Date Published
1993
Length
92 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on 25 health, social, and economic indicators of child welfare in Tennessee in 1992.
Abstract
Data came from reports from other State agencies, the United States Census Bureau, and other sources. Results revealed that although Tennessee's child population declined between 1980 and 1990, the number of children under age 6 increased. Nearly half of the children lived in two-parent families with both parents employed. Among mothers with children under age 6, 62.9 percent worked outside the home in 1990, as did 74.5 percent of those with children ages 6- 17. The State currently ranks 35th in per-capita income, and the gap between the richest and middle-class families was the fifth largest among the States. One-fifth of children lived in poverty; the majority of poor children live in single-parent families, are under age 6, are white, and live in rural areas. More than 22,000 youths were served by public mental health programs in 1990-91; an estimated 11,496 additional children eligible to receive services were not served. Two-thirds of the children referred to juvenile courts in 1991 lived in single-parent families headed by their mothers. In 1990, 32.3 percent of all women who gave birth did not receive adequate prenatal care. In addition, 275 adolescents aged 15-19 died from violence due to traffic accidents, homicides, suicide, and other causes. Per-pupil expenditures for public schools varied widely by county, and Tennessee has the lowest per-capita expenditures for public education of any State. Figures, tables, chapter notes, and glossary