SC has more underprivileged children than most US states, new report says. Here’s why

South Carolina ranks 15th among states with the most underprivileged children, a new report shows.

Easy access to nutritious food and quality health care are among the key requirements needed for children to lead successful lives — but they’re also what South Carolina lacks compared to many other states, according to a new report from WalletHub, a major personal finance website.

Nearly one in seven children live in poverty in the U.S., according to the Children’s Defense Fund. Also, a child is abused or neglected every 48 seconds.

And one year of all confirmed cases of child maltreatment leads to $124 billion in costs over those children’s lifetimes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

To determine which states are better at addressing the problems of underprivileged children than others, WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key indicators of neediness — from the share of children in households with below-poverty income to child food insecurity rates and the share of maltreated children. Data was used from sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the Administration of Children and Families, the CDC, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative.

Below is a list of where South Carolina ranks among key metrics that helped it gain its overall high ranking for underprivileged children.

• 9^th – % of Children in Households with Below-Poverty Income
• 15^th – % of Maltreated Children
• 27^th – Child Food-Insecurity Rate
• 21^st – % of Uninsured Children
• 12^th – Infant Mortality Rate
• 6^th – % of Children in Single-Parent Families
• 13^th – % of Residents Who Are Fully Vaccinated

Ezra Rosser, professor at American University Washington College of Law, said in a WalletHub press release that there is no one answer for equalizing opportunity for children. Instead, a host of programs and services are needed.

“Quality public education, including pre-K child care support and food assistance year-round, matters a lot,” Rosser said. “For those children in families with the greatest need, housing support – whether in the form of public housing or housing vouchers – provides a necessary starting point.”

Rosser added that income support for parents through programs like welfare or by increasing the minimum wage can help.

“The provision of some services, especially health care, as a matter of right can help kids receive regular health checkups,” he said.

Here are the 20 states with the most underprivileged children, according to WalletHub.

1. Mississippi
2. West Virginia
3. Alaska
4. New Mexico
5. Louisiana
6. Oklahoma
7. Montana
8. District of Columbia
9. Arizona
10. Kentucky
11. Arkansas
12. Nevada
13. Indiana
14. Alabama
15. South Carolina
16. Ohio
17. Wyoming
18. Missouri
19. Tennessee
20. Oregon

Patrick McCreless

The State

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Patrick McCreless is the Southeast service journalism editor for McClatchy, who leads and edits a team of six reporters in South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The team writes about trending news of the day and topics that help readers in their daily lives and better informs them about their communities. He attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama and grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL.