Greene County falling short on kids' care

County sinks in survey of children's health care, dropping to 59th out of 114 counties.

Melissa DeLoach
News-Leader

Tashia Warren said she was afraid to sleep after her son, Adam, was born in 2000 out of fear he would die from sudden infant death syndrome.
The young mother, then 19, recalled Tuesday that she had read something in a pamphlet that sparked her phobia.

"I didn't know what I was doing," said Warren, who dropped out of Springfield's Central High School at 16. "I never changed a diaper before then, too."

Warren said she turned to the Parents as Teachers program for help becoming a better mother for her two sons, Adam and now-15-month-old Hayden. Today, she is working at obtaining her General Equivalency Diploma.

Yet, Warren is included in statistics outlined in a report released Monday by a Missouri advocacy group that ranks Greene County 59th out of Missouri's 114 counties and the city of St. Louis when it comes to caring for the state's youth.

Greene County's ranking slipped 15 places in 2005 from its 2004 rank of 44th in the Making Kids Count report, produced by Citizens for Missouri's Children.

The county's slide more than reverses what had been steadily improving rankings since the 2000 report.

Other southwest Missouri counties seeing changes in ranking from 2004 to 2005 include Taney, improving its standing from 98th to 83rd, and Dade, declining from 53rd to 86th.

Seeing the smallest change are Dallas, which slid from 65th to 68th, and Barry, which inched up from 99th to 98th.

The numbers — compiled from reports by the University of Missouri-Columbia — gives an indication of how children are being served county-by-county, according the advocacy group, which has issued reports for at least 12 years.

"This is information that's important for a community to understand its problems so they can respond," said Executive Director Beth Griffin.

Griffin said the trend — though not outlined specifically in the report — is that Missouri's youth aren't receiving the primary care they need in terms of early screening and vaccinations. An estimated 25 percent of children do not get annual checkups, and the number doubles when it comes to dental care, she said.

"It's nowhere where it needs to be," Griffin said. "We still have a long way to go.

KEEPING SCORE

Warren could fall into a number of categories outlined in the Kids Count report — including mother without a high school diploma, teen giving birth and high school dropout.

The study also considers child death, teen violent deaths, infant mortality and child abuse and neglect.

Information contained in reports has long been considered by many organizations helpful in securing grants. For others, it helps in decisions for effectively allocating resources.

The latter is the case at Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation's Head Start, where director Patti Martin says Kids Count reports serve as an important means for determining which resources to send out in its 10- county area.

"Head Start serves the neediest of the needs," Martin said. "This (report) is one of our most useful tools."

Greene County's fall in the rankings indicates "some needs are not being met," Martin said. She added she would have to compare the results to that of other counties before resources are shifted.

In Greene County, the largest changes included child deaths, with 15 more in 2005. There were also 19 more teen births. Free and reduced-price lunch remained the same, with the county ranking 23rd. There was a slight increase in mothers without high school diplomas.

An area that marked no surprise to those contacted by the News-Leader was a consistency among child abuse and neglect, which ranked 83rd and high school dropouts at 100.

"It's nothing we didn't know already," said Dana Carroll of Community Partnership of the Ozarks. "We typically land low (in the rankings)."

But it's something that has and is being addressed, Carroll said.
"It didn't happen overnight, and it certainly can't be fixed overnight," she said.

When it comes to child abuse and neglect, it's a matter of teaching some parents about how to be a parent and understanding expectations of development. Drugs and alcohol are also contributing factors, Carroll said.

EVERYONE'S PROBLEM

"It you're paying taxes, this is going to affect you," said Warren of the statistics highlighted in Kids Count.

And much of the Kids Count report, Carroll said, echoes a community focus report released in the fall highlighting the plight of the poor and uninsured.

That report showed Springfield's job growth rate last year competed with cities such as St. Louis and Dallas. But it also showed that more than four of 10 students in Springfield Public Schools received free or reduced-price lunches.
Carroll, whose agency helped organize the community study, says that many families in need "live in isolation," not by choice, but rather by "not knowing where to turn."

An early childhood center, voted down by Greene County voters in November with a Community Safety Initiative, would have improved matters, she said.

Regardless, said Susan Scanlon, director of Children's Miracle Network, serving the needs of children is hard when parents don't take advantage of what's offered.

The organization operates two mobile pediatric clinics that often stop at schools from Monett to Buffalo to administer physicals.

Scanlon said the situation her staff encounters is that parents cannot afford to take their children to a doctor because getting away might mean losing their jobs. However, a sick child could become a chronic problem in the future.
"We're talking about children who deserve medical care, and if they're not getting it, we're all somewhat to blame."

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