County lags in some areas of child well-being

LACONIA — A comprehensive national report shows New Hampshire No. 1 for child well-being, but also showed major variation, with Belknap County lagging other areas on some measures.

The 2019 Kids Count Data Book was released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. New Futures, a health advocacy agency, put together a New Hampshire Data Book to supplement the national report.

Rebecca Woitkowski, early childhood policy coordinator for New Futures, said the top ranking is good news. But she also said people should not become complacent.

"In order to continue to promote equity and reduce the negative impacts of our child protection, mental health and substance use crises, lawmakers must continue to prioritize family support services like home visiting and other services offered at family resource centers," she said.

“National data can mask what the real story is for kids and children. For example, New Hampshire’s low poverty rate doesn’t consider a cost of living that is 21 percent above the national average.”

Half of New Hampshire’s young children do not attend preschool and the state does not offer universal preschool. Preschool is available to Laconia youngsters through local funding.

Belknap County was highest in the state for premature births and delayed prenatal care in 2016, at 9.3 percent and 6.8 percent respectively.

“Delayed prenatal care, with the mother’s first prenatal visit being less than 90 days before birth is associated with a higher risk of preterm birth,” the report said. “A birth before 37 weeks is considered premature and is the leading cause of low birth weight, which can lead to negative health outcomes for babies.”

A portion of these premature births are opioid related.

Horizons Counseling Center Executive Director Jacqui Abikoff said stigma and fear prevent some women with substance misuse issues from seeking proper prenatal care.

“A lot of young women find themselves pregnant by choice, or by circumstance, and are afraid to approach a physician for prenatal care for fear of being judged, or being seen as a bad parent while using and not being able to stop,” she said.

“They also have a fear of having children taken from them because of a history of drug abuse.”

The state report showed about 17 percent of Belknap County children living in poverty between 2012 and 2016, second only to Coos County, with just over 20 percent.

“We used to have a solid manufacturing base, but most of it is gone and we’re reliant on the tourism industry, which is seasonal and doesn't have a history of paying well,” Abikoff said. “We've become a very service-based economy.”

The report also showed Belknap County with the lowest score in the state for 4th-grade math and reading proficiency, at just over 40 percent. But it also showed the math and reading SAT scores in the county in 2017 were among the highest in the state.

The national report found that all 15 of the states where growth in the child population outpaced the national average since 1990 are in the South or West. Most states that had declines in child populations are in the Northeast and Midwest.

Those trends are playing out in fewer students at Laconia High School.

School District Superintendent Brendan Minnihan said the school graduated 110 students this year, compared to 203 in 2008.