Voices for Illinois Children released their 2020 Illinois Kids Count report on health.
The report shows improvements in the outcome of children’s health over the last decade, but gaps for health care for children in the state remain.
The reports indicates a larger gap for health care for children of color and inequalities in health well-being and other socioeconomic areas for children of race and ethnicity.
Illinois kids count project manger Bill Byrnes says they recommend state agencies collect and release data by race and ethnicity instead of the state as a whole. He says that would improve children’s outcomes.
“We think that would be an effective way to help the state determine how to target its resources a little bit better, we also suggest making additional investments in school-based health centers, particularly in rural areas.”
The state’s overall rank in child well being went from 23 to 24 in the latest national kids count report.
To read the full report click here.
