The “Commercial Appeal” reports that the Annual “Kids Count” survey (by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth) has been released, and the news is REALLY bad for Memphis.
There are 95 counties in Tennessee, and Shelby County teenagers lead the state in:
Sexually Transmitted Diseases – Nearly half of Tennessee’s cases of Teen STDs are in Shelby County.
School Suspensions – About 28,000 teens were suspended (double the state rate)
School Expulsions – About 4,000 area teens were expelled (5 times the state rate)
Dropout rates – Over 3,000 teens dropped out of school. (More than double the state rate)
Teen Pregnancy – More than 48 out of 1,000 Shelby County teens get pregnant (compared with the state rate of 29 of 1,000)
Poverty – 1 out of every 3 Shelby teenagers live in poverty.
You can read the entire “Kids Count” report by clicking here.
