Child deaths down

The State Child Death Review Board this week reported that Kansas recorded the lowest number of children’s deaths since the board began reviewing deaths in 1994. The board’s just-released annual report analyzes the deaths of Kansas children (birth through 17 years old) that occurred in calendar year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available. The report showed Kansas had 362 child fatalities in 2019, compared with 414 in 2018. The overall child death rate in 2019 was 51.7 deaths per 100,000 population, resuming a downward trend from the past decade. The report also shows that in 2019 the number of motor vehicle crash deaths for children age 1-17 fell below the number of deaths by suicide, which also declined. The number of suicides for 2019 represented 27% of deaths compared to 24% over the previous five years.