Source: Taras Grebinets / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS — Every year the Indiana Youth Institute gauges where the state is on making sure Indiana’s kids are in the right place to lead good lives as they grow up.
In their annual report released this week, the IYI said that in most metrics children in Indiana are in a much better spot than they were last year. The institute’s president and CEO, Tami Silverman, told Indy Politics that the state is ranking higher than last year for child well-being.
“We are currently ranked 24th nationally for child well-being, we are previously ranked 28th,” Silverman said. “We are 13th for education. That is our brightest, strongest area.”
Silverman said metrics are also up in Indiana for the number of kids who are living in an economically stable home. She said that is a root factor in why Indiana’s ranking has gone up.
She added that when things are fiscally stable at home, that tends to bode well for a child’s mental health as well. Indiana’s ranking in that category went up in the last year too. In turn, she said better mental health means better graduation rates.
“Graduation rates (in Indiana) went up,” Silverman said. “The really good news with that is that they are the highest they’ve been since 2016.”
Silverman said 89-percent of Indiana’s seniors graduated in 2023.
She said though Indiana’s ranking did improve in regards to overall health, she said it’s still a bigger area of concern. Indiana is ranked 29th in the nation when it comes to child health. Silverman is encouraging youth groups, civic leaders, and other stakeholders to continue investing in making sure kids are leading healthy lives both mentally and physically.
