Child Welfare League of America: Advocacy: State Fact Sheets 2001

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TENNESSEE'S CHILDREN 2001

State Population (1999)¹		5,483,535
State Population for Children Under 18 (1999)²		1,340,930
State Poverty Rate (1999)³		11.9%
State Poverty Rate for Children Under 18 (1999)⁴		17.4%

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

In 1998, 32,286 children were reported as abused or neglected and referred for investigation in Tennessee, a rate of 24.2 per 1,000 children in the population.⁶
In 1998, 9,930 children were substantiated or indicated as abused or neglected in Tennessee, a rate of 7.5 per 1,000 children in the population. Of every 1,000 children in the population, 3.2 children were known to be neglected, 1.5 were physically abused, and 1.7 were sexually abused.⁷
In 1998, twelve children died as a result of abuse or neglect.⁸
In 1998, 335 children were legally adopted through the public child welfare agency in Tennessee.¹¹
During 1998, $398,652,983, or $73.41 per capita, was spent on the public child welfare system, including federal, state, and local resources. Nationwide, $57.75 per capita was spent.¹²

CHILD CARE, HEALTH, AND EDUCATION

In 1999, 14,753 of Tennessee children were served by Head Start.¹³
In Tennessee, 76.9% of high school seniors graduated in 1998.¹⁴
An estimated 155,971 children in Tennessee are uninsured. Of these, 79% are potentially eligible for Medicaid, SCHIP, and other state-sponsored programs, but they are not enrolled.¹⁵ In 1997, 48% of births were paid for by Medicaid.¹⁶
In 1998, the rate of births to teen mothers was 64.3 for every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19.¹⁷
Through June 2000, 9,868 adults and adolescents, as well as 84 children under the age of 13, in Tennessee were living with HIV/AIDS.¹⁸

JUVENILE VIOLENCE AND DETENTION

In 1998, 109 young people ages 0 to 19 were killed by firearms in Tennessee. Of those, 38 were determined to have committed suicide.²⁰
In 1999, 22,692 juveniles were arrested in Tennessee. Of these arrests, 759 were for a violent crime, and 361 were for possession of a weapon.²¹
In 1997, 2,118 juvenile offenders were in residential placement in Tennessee.²²

INCOME SUPPORT

The total number of TANF recipients in Tennessee decreased 44% from 254,818 in August 1996 to 143,823 in June 2000. The number of families receiving TANF decreased 45% to 55,491.²³
In 2000, a family of three receiving only TANF and Food Stamp benefits in Tennessee was 56%^{24, 25} below the federal poverty guideline of $14,150.²⁶
In 1999, 24% of child support cases in Tennessee received some sort of support.²⁷
In 1999, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Tennessee was $494,²⁸ 55% of the average monthly income for a worker earning the minimum wage,²⁹ and 95% of the maximum monthly TANF cash assistance grant plus Food Stamps for a family of three.^{30, 31}

For additional child welfare statistics, references, and pertinent notes, please visit CWLA's National Data Analysis System at http://ndas.cwla.org.

REFERENCES

U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2000). Statistical abstract of the United States: 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Ibid.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. (2000). Annual demographic survey March supplement: Poverty status by state and ten large metropolitan areas in 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Ibid.
Ibid.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. (2000). Child maltreatment 1998: Reports from the states to the national child abuse and neglect data system. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Ibid.
Ibid.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. (2000) Unpublished AFCARS data.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Bess, R., Leos-Urbel, J., & Geen, R. (2001). The cost of protecting vulnerable children II: What has changed since 1996? Assessing the New Federalism Occasional Paper No. 46. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Calculations by CWLA.
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. (2000). Head Start statistical fact sheet. [Online]. Available: www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs. Washington, DC: Author.
U. S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (1997). Public school student, staff, and graduate counts by state, school year 1997-1998. [Online]. Available: www.nces.ed.gov. Calculation by National Library of Education.
Tang, S., Yudkowsky, B., & Siston, A. (2001). Children's Health Insurance Status and Public Program Participation. State Reports, 1999 and 2001 Estimates. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
Tang, S., Siston, A., & Yudkowsky, B. (September 2000). Medicaid State Reports - FY 1998. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2000). Fact sheet: National teen pregnancy and birth data. [Online]. Available: www.teenpregnancy.org
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2000). HIV/AIDS surveillance report. Vol.12, No.1. Washington, DC: Author
National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. (1999). Alcohol and other drug treatment needs. [Online]. Available: www.nasadad.org.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics, unpublished tabulations, Table III: Deaths from 282 selected causes. Calculations by Children's Defense Fund.
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2000). Crime in the United States: 1999. Washington, DC: Author
Sickmund, M., & Wan, Yi-chun. (1999). Census of juveniles in residential placement: 1997 databook. [Online]. Available: www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/cjrp97/openpage.asp.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2000). Change in welfare caseloads since enactment of new welfare law. [Online]. Available: www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/stats/aug-dec.htm and case-fam.htm.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2000). Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program: Third annual report to Congress. Washington, DC: Author. Calculations by CWLA.
Food Research and Action Center. (2001). Federal food programs: Food Stamp Program-Monthly allotments and deductions October 1999 - September 2000. [Online]. Available: www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/programs/fsp_limits.html. Calculations by CWLA.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Annual update of the HHS poverty guidelines. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement. (2000). Child support enforcement FY 1999 preliminary data report. Washington, DC: Author. Calculations by CWLA.
National Low Income Housing Coalition. (1999). Estimated state metro FMR's and related characteristics. (1999). Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Labor (2001). The minimum wage [online]. Available: www.dol.gov/dol/esa/public/minwage/main.htm. Calculations by CWLA.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (1999). TANF report to Congress: Work-related provisions of state TANF plans. Washington, DC: Author. Calculations by CWLA.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food, and Consumer Service. (1999). Food stamp program monthly allotments and deductions. Washington, DC: Author. Calculations by CWLA.