California ranks low for kids’ well-being

California ranked a dismal 41st in a new report measuring U.S. states for children’s overall well-being.

States were ranked using categories like economic well-being, education, health, family and community in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book, compiled using data from 2006 to 2010, according to the Ventura County Star. California ranked 45th for economic well-being, 43rd for education, 42nd for family and community and 23rd for health.

The Golden State came in dead last in the housing category: More than half of California’s children were living in households that spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Also, in 2010, 3.3 million children in California had parents with no full-time, year-round employment, a 20 percent increase from 2008.

Jessica Mindnich of Children Now, which assisted in the research, said the study is “starting to allow us to paint a picture of how children have fared during the economic recession. The picture we are seeing is an increased vulnerability among this generation of children.”