Castle Country Radio had the chance to discuss the KIDS COUNT Data Book, an annual publication produced by The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) with Martín Muñoz, the Kids Count Director for Voices for Utah Children.

AECF is a nonprofit located in Baltimore, Maryland, which specializes in child well-being. The KIDS COUNT Data Book is a widely cited publication by the media when discussing child well-being statistics.

Voices for Utah Children is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to raising awareness and promoting policies that will benefit and promote the well-being of children statewide.

To open our interview, Muñoz discussed the statistics that appeared within the data book, specifically citing how Utah does rank better than most of the nation, but that the numbers are still concerning.” Nationally we saw a chronic absenteeism rate of 30%, here in Utah we were sitting at 28%. What counts as chronic absenteeism is when you miss 10% or more school days unexcused.”

According to the data book, nationally only one in three children are meeting reading standards in fourth grade. In Utah, those numbers do fare slightly better with 63% of fourth graders not proficient in reading.

Muñoz then explained why, “ We always tout being an economically sound state in Utah, but education is such a vital resource that we can make sure our kids have in Utah that is going to affect our economy down the road.”

We asked Munoz to explain why in his opinion, this is something to worry about,” This is something that is very important to me. Quality education is one of the most valuable things we can give a kid in their toolbox of life. I really hope our policymakers see these numbers and realize we need to invest more in our kids and our education system.”

To round out our interview, we talked with Muñoz about some proposed solutions to the education crisis. Priority number one is we need to fully fund education in the aspect of knowing that our educators and our students have access to all the resources they need.” Muñoz also explained that, “We need to invest more in our education, for well over two decades we have been ranked at the bottom in per-pupil-spending. And that’s not working, so let’s invest and start putting more money into our kids.”

Muñoz left us with this message,” All I ask is to take advantage of this information, check it out.”

The Annie E. Casey Foundation 2024 Kids Count Data Book released on June 12, 2024, and can be viewed in full here. For more information on Voices for Utah Children, you can visit their website, they can also be contacted by phone at 801-364-1182.