2008
Rhode Island
Kids Count Factbook

New at Rhode Island KIDS COUNT

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is in the process of hiring a full-time Policy Analyst to work on a variety of issues affecting the well-being of children in Rhode Island, including poverty, family economic security and child welfare. For more information, download the job annoucement.

View Upcoming Changes to Health Insurance Coverage for Children and Families in Rhode Island which describes upcoming changes to RIte Care that will be implemented over the next few months. This publication will be updated when changes to the timeframes occur or when further information is available. Read the paper "Rhode Island's Medicaid Proposal Would Put Beneficiaries At Risk and Undermine The Federal-State Partnership Could Set Dangerous Precedent for Other States" by Judith Solomon of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

According to recent data, 17.5% of RI's children under age 18 lived in poverty in 2007, and 6.9% of RI children were uninsured in the three year period from 2005-2007. View the press release, and see how RI compares to other states in the data tables on children's health insurance coverage and child poverty. The following resource from the National Center for Children in Poverty may be helpful for talking about the numbers: Ten Important Questions About Child Poverty and Family Economic Hardship.

The number of children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders increased 30 fold over the past 14 years, and students with ASDs make up 5% of RI children receiving special education services according to the newly released Rhode Island Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Issue Brief.