Why Missouri Struggles with Children’s Health: Key Insights and Solutions

Missouri finds itself near the bottom when it comes to children’s health. A recent report showed that a high number of child and teen deaths contributes to this troubling ranking. The annual Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation assessed states based on health, economic well-being, education, and family/community support using data from 2023.

Overall, Missouri is 27th in child well-being out of 50 states, with specific struggles in health and education. Here’s how the state performed across four key categories:

• 13th in economic well-being,
• 33rd in education,
• 35th in health,
• 25th in family and community.

Experts from health organizations express concern over child health in Missouri. In fact, only nine states reported more child and teen deaths than Missouri in 2023. This means Missouri ranks among the states with the highest death rates for kids, driven in part by gun violence. Firearms have become the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. since 2020, overtaking car accidents.

The state’s rate stands at 37 deaths per 100,000, above the national average of 29. This increase is attributed to rising gun-related deaths and drug overdoses, especially among teens aged 15 to 19.

Additionally, Missouri’s rates of low-birth weight babies have risen since 2019, placing it above the national average. However, there have been improvements. Medicaid expansion in 2021 lowered the uninsured rate for children from 7% to 5%, which aligns with the national average. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Missouri has seen one of the largest drops in the percentage of uninsured individuals from 2019 to 2023 because of this expansion.

Despite these gains, budget proposals in Congress threaten to impose barriers to Medicaid that could reverse progress. On the bright side, the state has seen declines in teen births and childhood obesity, with the latter down to 31%, which is now in line with the national average. The child poverty rate has also dipped to 14%, lower than the national rate of 16%.

In education, though, Missouri remains in decline. In 2023, 77% of eighth graders lacked proficiency in math, nearly 10 percentage points worse than in 2019. The press release from Family and Community Trust stresses the urgent need for investment in education across the state.

Addressing these challenges is crucial for Missouri’s children. As the state navigates these issues, experts emphasize the impact that improved health care and education could have on the future well-being of its youth.

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