Wyoming Ranked Near The Bottom For Baby/Toddler Support

When it comes to healthcare for babies in Wyoming, the state as a whole does not do very well.

That's according to the State of Babies Yearbook, which "...compiles nearly 60 indicators specifically for children ages 0 to 3 to measure progress across three policy areas: Good Health, Strong Families, and Positive Early Learning Experiences."

Their findings say that one of the problems is the high number of uninsured infants/toddlers in Wyoming, and to improve that is for the state to expand Medicaid.

"Medicaid expansion is very important," chief policy officer for the group Zero to Three Myra Jones-Taylor told Public News Service. "We know that in states that have expanded Medicaid, babies are doing better overall than those states where they haven't had Medicaid expansion."

Almost one in four children in Wyoming live in a family that can't afford breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.

"There is no smarter investment, for a state or for our country than investing in infants and toddlers, and the early childhood development of our next generation of workers, of leaders," Myra said.

Another thing that is low in Wyoming is the percentage of parents reading to their children.  About 38% of parents nationwide read to their children, only 29% of Wyoming parents read to their children.

"And it's something parents can do today," Myra stressed. "This is so important for young children's academic performance later on. Early literacy skills, even early numeracy skills, are linked to parents and caregivers reading to their children every day."