Report: Kids better, but still face problems

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois children fare better now than 20 years ago but still face problems in money for education and mental health services, a new study concludes.

Preschool attendance surged to nearly 90,000 students in 2007 from less than 10,000 in 1987, said the "Illinois Kids Count" report released Thursday by Voices for Illinois Children.

Another improvement was an expansion of public health insurance to more than 1.3 million of the state's 3 million children, according to the report. It also cites a sharp decline of children living in foster care, to about 17,000 in 2006 from a peak of 50,000 in 1997.

"Twenty years of data show that children growing up today are much better off than their counterparts a generation ago," Jerry Stermer, president of Voices for Illinois Children, said in a statement.

The report uses data from the census, the state Public Health Department and other sources. It also comes as state lawmakers are set to return from a two-week legislative break.

Voices spokesman Sean Noble said he hopes lawmakers will consider the data when making decisions on the state's budget.

The advocacy group credits the improvements to legislative and advocacy efforts but says Illinois still lags behind in paying back doctors who accept state-subsidized insurance.

"It's no secret that we've got to do a better job with the payment cycles and reimbursements of doctors," Noble said.

Other concerns surround education funding and how the state pays to treat the estimated 300,000 Illinois children with mental health conditions.

"Rather than mental illness we need to look at mental health," said Noble, who says Illinois pays only a fraction of basic needs for children. "How do we support the social and emotional development of kids from birth all the way to adulthood."

A representative from the Illinois Department of Public Health did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday from The Associated Press.

Matt Vanover, a spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Education, hadn't seen the report but said about 70 percent of 873 school districts are considered to be in the highest of four categories to describe financial conditions. That is up from 40 percent from 2004.

School districts on the lowest of the four levels dropped to 3 percent this year from 17 percent in 2004.

"We have seen some strides over the past five years in education funding from the state," Vanover said. "We've seen increase of $5.9 billion in that timeframe for our Illinois schools."

The report also cited the need for more family economic assistance programs as many low-income families face higher rates of unemployment.

"I think that is an area of particular need where we've got to do more to help families to be able to keep food on the table for their kids, clothes on their back and a roof over their heads," Noble said.