The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth on Thursday released its 2024 profiles on child-well being across the state. The report gives an in-depth look on how each county in the state ranks in economic well-being, education, health and family and community. In Sullivan County, the rate of children living in poverty was 23.
1% in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. This is a slight decrease from 25.3% in 2021.
The county also improved in rank for victims of abuse or neglect per 1,000. The most recent data shows the current rate at 14.9 per 1,000, whereas the previous rate was 18.
8. Overall, the county ranked 65th in the state for economic well-being, 32nd in education, 20th in health and 89th in family and community. Ranked 62nd in overall child well-being, Sullivan County is in the bottom half of the state and struggles with the rate of youth crime per 1,000.
The county’s strongest data point was children’s health, and it ranks well in students on track in TCAP English Language Arts. In Hawkins County, the rate of children living in poverty slightly lowered from 22.7% in 2021 to 21.
9% in 2022. The county also improved in rank for victims of abuse or neglect per 1,000 — moving from 17.4 per 1,000 to 12.
8 per 1,000 in fiscal year 2022-23. Hawkins County performed slightly worse from previous data in the amount of children who lack health insurance and child care cost burden. Overall, Hawkins County ranks 35th in the state in economic well-being, 5.
