United Way of Northern Arizona — 2 New Reports Show How Far We Need to Go

A pair of recently released reports illustrate how far our region and state have to go to provide better outcomes for our children and youth – and how the pandemic has complicated those efforts.

According to the 2021 Kids Count Data Book from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Arizona was slowly making improvements in multiple areas for children. The state is consistently in the bottom 25% for overall rankings, but had shown gains in 2019 in both the economic well-being of children and with more elementary and middle school students meeting math and reading proficiency levels.

And then COVID hit.

Save the Children’s Childhood in the Time of COVID illustrates how the pandemic adversely impacted children nationally with some of the worst outcomes happening in our state. In addition to the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic, education has suffered for youth of all ages.

“An entire generation of children has had their education disrupted, from preschool to senior year of high school,” the report notes. “For any child, being cut off from school, teachers, friends and normal routines can be difficult. For the most vulnerable children – many of whom were already behind – it’s devastating.”

In Arizona, according to the report, more than one in five families with children age 0 – 17 reported not having enough to eat. Close to 14% said they did not have adequate computer access when school was being held remotely, and almost half reported difficulty in paying bills due to the pandemic.

At the United Way, we are committed to Stepping Up for Our Youth and supporting those agencies and programs that help our kids become resilient and successful. They will also be key in helping us regain the momentum that was lost over the past 18 months as we rebuild and recover.

We invite you to join us and Step Up for Our Youth by learning more about our programs and collaborative project that help us LIVE UNITED and ensure a better future for our children.