According to the Council for the Betterment of Louisiana (CABL), Louisiana has made progress on less than half of 35 indicators of well-being, showing a slight decline from last year. One problem area is health and wellness, says CABL President Barry Irwin. “Life expectancy, low birth weight, infant mortality, food insecurity — we're not moving in the right direction on these issues.”
CABL monitored Louisiana's progress in five areas: economy has declined, health and wellness has declined, infrastructure has improved significantly, environment and energy have been mixed, but education has improved significantly, according to Irwin.
“We're moving in the right direction in third-grade reading, in reading and educational achievement among economically disadvantaged kids,” he explained. “We're not where we need to be, but at least we're moving in the right direction.”
Sixteen indicators are trending downward, compared to 13 last year, and seven are declining for the second consecutive year. And only 16 indicators are trending upward, compared to 18 last year. Irwin said the best way to improve these numbers is to create policies that address problem areas such as the economy and health care.
“This tells us that on some very important metrics we're not moving in the right direction and in some ways we need to backtrack,” he said.
The full report can be found on the CABL website or by clicking here
