Good news, poor news for N.J. kids Living conditions improve, poverty doesn't Tuesday, June 03, 2008 • BY SUSAN K. LIVIO • Star-Ledger Staff The poverty rate among New Jersey's 2.1 million children barely budged this decade, but poor kids improved their test scores and were more likely to live in a stable home, according to an annual analysis on children released yesterday. "New Jersey children are in some important ways better off than five years ago," the latest statewide KIDS Count report concluded. "But the most striking -- and troubling -- fact evident from the data in this book is too little has changed." Between 2002 and 2006, 12 percent of children consistently lived in poverty, and more than one-quarter of that group were raised by parents who did not have a full-time job, according to the latest KIDS Count report. But there was evidence of "some steady progress" in other areas, said Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of the Association for Children of New Jersey, a research and advocacy group that compiled the report. Three-quarters of all third-graders from poor school districts passed the state math test last year, up from 58 percent who passed in 2004. Enrollment in preschool climbed 10 percent over the last five years to nearly 50,000 children. The association also found signs of family stability. In 2002, 71,500 grandparents were raising their grandchildren -- an arrangement that typically occurs when parents have died or lost custody due to abuse or neglect. In 2006, only 53,900 grandparents were parenting again, "suggesting that more parents are fulfilling this responsibility," according to the association's press release. The number of children taken from their families and placed in foster care also declined dramatically, according to the report. Acting Children and Families Commissioner Eileen Crummy attributed part of the 23 percent decline from 2004 to 2007 to the heightened scrutiny of the Division of Youth and Family Services after authorities found the body of 7-year-old Faheem Williams in Newark in 2003, a child the state had lost in the system. There were 10,500 foster children in 2007, down about 12,800 from 2004. "There is no doubt in the aftermath of that tragedy the number of kids increased, and that over time, that has normalized," Crummy said. Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez said she appreciated the association's "fair report card," and deeply regretted the static child poverty rate. "We need to do so much better," she said. But she said she was encouraged by the 30 percent rise among children participating in the food stamp program, calling it "a critical support for families." The association also reported on young adults for the first time. "A startling number of New Jersey youth age 18 to 24" -- some 98,000 -- "is not working, not attending school, and has no degree beyond high school," according to the report, which called this segment of the population "the idle young." This segment of the population grew 34 percent between 2002 and 2006. Some 85,000 18-to-24-years-olds lived below the federal poverty line in 2006, 33 percent more than 2002. The report also found 217,000 young people without health care. "No longer covered under their parents' insurance plans or by the state's insurance program for low-income children, many young adults might be gambling that their youth and general good health will protect them," the report said. © 2008 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.