Study: Minnesota Ranks First in Child Well-Being

ST. PAUL (AP) - Minnesota ranks first among states in a national poll on the well-being of children.

The annual Kids Count ranking is done annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It shows that a decline in child deaths and substance abuse has pushed Minnesota into the top spot in measurements of economic well-being, health care, education and family and community issues.

Overall the study shows 22 percent of American children were living in poverty in 2013 compared with 18 percent in 2008, with poverty rates nearly double among African-Americans and American Indians.

Gov. Mark Dayton and representatives from the Children's Defense Fund plan to talk about the rankings at the Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis Tuesday. The location is meant to highlight the disparities that subject minority children to higher rates of poverty and chronic disease.