There are 188,270 children under 18 in South Dakota. Many face strong challenges every day.

State Statistics

• Children Living in Poverty (2006) - 31,857
• Children Not Covered by Health Insurance at Any Time in 2006 - 18,000
• Children’s Health Care Covered by Government Assistance (2006) - 60,000
• Children Reported Abused (2005) - 3,968
• 2 Year Olds Not Immunized (2006) - 2,458 (23.2%)
• Child Abuse Deaths (2000-2005) - 25
• 3-4 Year Olds Not Enrolled in a nursery school, pre-school, or pre-kindergarten education program (2006) - 12,718 (58.2%)
• % of 4th Graders Scoring below Basic Reading Levels (2007) - 29