A new report from Kentucky Youth Advocates is giving us a picture of the well-being of children in Kentucky.

The Kids County report looks at key areas like health, education and economic security.

Our Makenzie Spink breaks down where the state has improved and where advocates are calling for change.

The 2025 Kids County Report is a mixed bag.

But Terry Brooks with Kentucky Youth Advocates says there are areas of improvement to celebrate, especially in the health arena.

Our track record on issues with kids being covered by health insurance and a long term trend on declining teen birth rates, continue to improve in substantial and dramatic ways.

So those health data points need to be grabbed and celebrated because that is good news and good news.

Child poverty rates have also decreased in 111 out of 120 counties in the state.

However, 20% of all children in the state continue to live in poverty and the breakdown in eastern Kentucky is worse.

40% of kids in eastern Kentucky are growing up in childhood poverty and rates of poverty for black kids in Kentucky continue to be at an unacceptable, disproportionate rate in every corner of the state.

The worst scoring areas of child well-being in Kentucky hunger and nutrition.

When it comes to food, it seems as if we have a bad data point followed by bad data point, followed by a bad data point.

119 out of Kentucky's 120 counties show that more kids are hungry today than a year ago.

According to the report, 20% of children in Kentucky are obese, while 21% of children in the state are considered food insecure.

While it may seem contradictory, Kentucky youth Advocates, the data and research director, says these data points are closely related.

Food insecurity in Kentucky can be very hidden and a lot trickier to identify, because it's often things like parents skipping meals to ensure that their kids have enough food at dinner, or families choosing between do I pay my utility bills this month?

Or do I buy groceries?

Or, which is the connection to obesity having to rely on cheap, ultra processed foods in order to make ends meet when it comes to their food budget?

We know that whether it's because of poverty or a lack of grocery stores in their neighborhoods, many Kentucky kids simply do not have access to the foods they need to maintain a healthy weight.

According to Brooks, this data is critical when it comes to making policy decisions during the legislative session.

He's calling on lawmakers to take action on behalf of children this January.

Kentucky's kids need Andy Beshear, David Osborne, Robert Stivers and those other lawmakers to step up and become heroes once again for Kentucky's kids.

The kids Count Data Dashboard can be found online and includes 16 measures of well-being, broken down by county.

For Kentucky edition, I'm Mackenzie Spink.

Thank you, Mackenzie, for that report.

The report shows the rate of children entering foster care decreasing, and an increase in the number of foster children being united with their families.