Almost half the children under the age of 4 in Lackawanna County live in poverty.
Nearly 14 percent of babies are born to mothers in the county without a high school diploma.
Fifty-one percent of county children are on public health insurance.
The data, released Tuesday by the nonprofit group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, is part of a report to show how ready area students are for kindergarten and beyond. The 2012 School Readiness report details progress on child well-being indicators, including accessibility to early learning resources and medical care.
Statewide, progress on the indicators has slowed and, in some areas, stagnated, according to the Harrisburg-based organization. The organization compiles the most recent data available from several sources to complete the report.
Among the report highlights, statewide:
- About two in five children newborn to age 4 live in low-income households, making them more likely to face nutrition and health problems and less likely to succeed in school.
- About one in 20 children ages newborn to 4 lack health insurance.
- The number of state-subsidized child care slots available to children has remained flat.
- The number of Pennsylvania children ages 4 and under who are covered by the state's Children's Health Insurance Program or Medicaid fell by more than 40,000 in just a year.
- The number of children enrolled in publicly funded, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs dropped by more than 3,200 in the past year.
The statistics for Lackawanna County did not surprise Gary Drapek, president of United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties.
"It's what we see every single day," he said.
Many of the factors, including the number of children living in poverty, relates directly to the region's high unemployment rate, Mr. Drapek said.
"We should especially be concerned about the children," he said. "They are really what is going to bring us into the future."
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com, @hofiushallTT on Twitter