Google+"/> Skip to content

Category: Insight

Published on

Today's edition of Insight looks at the state of children in South Carolina. Program host, Bhakti Larry Hough, interviews Bett Williams, Communications Coordinator for the Children's Trust of South Carolina.

South Carolina ranks 43rd overall for child well-being as compared to other states, according to the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. "We've got a lot of work to do in South Carolina in terms of child well-being," Williams, told Bhakti in the latest edition of Insight.

The 2012 Kids Count Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation using a revised and expanded list of indicators, gives an in-depth look at the status of children in South Carolina in comparison to the rest of the nation.

Indicators were placed into four domains:

  1. Economic Well-Being
  2. Education
  3. Health
  4. Family and Community

"With the expanded list of indicators, increasing from 10 to 16, and framed into four domains, the state can better examine and more fully understand what it is doing well for children and where it can do better, Williams said.

South Carolina's highest ranking is under economic well-being with a rank of 34. Of particular concern, is the 23 percent increase in children whose parents lack secure employment and the 13 percent increase in children living in poverty since 2005. This means that one in every four children (278,000) children live in poverty. For a family of four, this equates to a household income of $23,050 or less. Research indicates that on average families need incomes at twice the poverty level ($46,100) to cover normal, expected expenses such as food, housing, childcare, and transportation. In South Carolina, one in every two children lives below this threshold.

The report also gives South Carolina some small rays of hope, especially in education and health, where there is a trend of improvements. There was a 31 percent decrease in children without health insurance, 25 percent decrease in teens who abuse alcohol or drugs, and a 15 percent decrease in the child and teen deaths.

There was also eight percent decrease in the number of children not attending preschool.

The positive numbers are a good sign, Williams said, but they should not give the state a false sense of success because there are far too many children in the state whose futures at risk.

The 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book with state-by-state rankings and supplemental data is available at http://datacenter.kidscount.org.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Published on

Alzheimer's Disease is the topic of discussion on the current edition of Insight, the Radio Baha'i public affairs talk show, at 10 a.m., 7 p.m. and midnight Wednesday, July 25th, and Monday, July 30th. Host, Bhakti Larry Hough, interviews Claudia Harris, Natalie Bankowski of the Myrtle Beach chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, and Ronald Lewis, a minister and  certified professional caregiver who conducts an Alzheimer's Disease support group for caregivers in Hemingway.

For the first 11 years after her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, Claudia Harris of Brittain's Neck dealt with the challenge from afar. She was living and teaching public school in Chicago and making periodic visits to South Carolina. Claudia's father was taking care of her mother.  Then he died suddenly four years ago, leaving Claudia to be her mother's principal caregiver.  Her life changed dramatically, she said.
"It was like a total change because I had to leave my other family and friends in Chicago," Claudia said. "Emotionally it has been a strain because she was a business woman and watching her deteriorate and become so helpless has been difficult. I take it one day at a time, I talk to my friends and I talk to God a lot."

Claudia Harris is just one of 15 million Americans who provide unpaid care for the 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's Disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Alzheimer's Disease is a progressively fatal disease that causes the brain to shrink. It is the 6th leading cause of death in U.S. and the only cause of death among  the top 10 in the U.S. that can't be prevented, cured or slowed. While Alzheimer's Disease is most prevalent among the elderly, early onset Alzheimer's Disease is becoming increasingly common among persons in their 40s and 50s.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Published on
Picture of O'Neal Smalls standing in the field.
O'Neal Smalls, president of the Freewoods Foundation, standing in the field.

African American history and culture is complex, diverse and intriguing. Listen to Insight, and Join Bhakti Larry Hough for reports that give glimpses into two different aspects of African American historic preservation - the Freewoods Farm of the Burgess community of Myrtle Beach, SC and the Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor. This program airs on the 11th, 14th, 18th and 21st.

You can hear Insight Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM, and Wednesday nights at midnight. Or, you can download this edition of Insight and listen whenever you like.

Photo of O'Neal Smalls and two employees.
O'Neal Smalls (with hoe), president of the Freewoods Foundation, with Freewoods Farm employees Willie Hamilton and Gerald Graham.
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail