Illinois ranks 20th nationally for child well-being, according to a report released this week from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. [Health News Illinois] 

The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book assigned states a score for the first time in its 37-year history, which tracked 16 indicators between 2019 and 2024 to provide a year-to-year look at whether state policies and public investment are working.

Illinois received a score of 615, while the U.S. as a whole received 547. Scores ranged from 271 in Mississippi to 838 in New Hampshire. 

The report ranked states in four categories. Of those, Illinois ranked: 

• 24th for economic well-being, which looked at the number of kids in poverty, whose parents lack secure employment and who live in households with a high housing cost burden and the number of teens who are not in school and not working. 
• 7th for education, which looked at the number of young kids not in school, fourth graders not proficient in reading, eighth graders not proficient in math and high school students not graduating on time. 
• 25th for family and community, which looked at the number of kids in single-parent families, in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma and living in high-poverty areas, as well as teen births per 1,000. 
• 23rd for health, which looked at the number of low birth-weight babies, kids without insurance, child and teen deaths per 100,000 and children and teens who are overweight.

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, which worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation on the report, said it found some positive trends, including a high rate of preschool enrollment and 8th grade math proficiency and a large decline in teen birth rates.

But the findings also showed “concerning declines in education and health outcomes.”

Specifically, the organization said Illinois' child and teen mortality remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, with the state experiencing a sharper increase than the national average. 

Additionally, one in four Illinois children now live in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment.

“The data reinforces what communities and families have been telling us for years: investments in children cannot stop at access alone,” said Loukisha Pennix, YWCA Metropolitan Chicago’s chief youth and family potential officer. “Families need sustained support systems that strengthen economic stability, educational opportunity, health outcomes, and community safety.”

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