Indiana ranks 46th among all states in public spending on children

(The Center Square) – Indiana ranks 46th among all states in per-child spending on support for well-being at the same time lawmakers are considering a ban on most abortions in the state.

Only four states spent less on children’s education, health and economic support in 2021 according to a report from the Urban Institute. Additional data shows state spending in those categories has flattened over two decades.

Annual increases in spending averaged 5% from 1998 through 2002 but fell to an average of 0.22% in 2012 through 2016. Total state spending on the three categories was about $8.6 million in 2016 according to the report, the last year for which comparative data was available.

Indiana is one of only 13 states that imposes a cap on the total amount of aid available to families with a child on public assistance, according to Pew Research.

State lawmakers will meet July 25 to further restrict abortion in Indiana, according to House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers.

“It’s my expectation for state lawmakers to take action to further protect life when we return to the Statehouse for a special session,” Huston said in a recent statement.

Huston added lawmakers would likely increase support for women and children in crisis.

“I strongly believe we’ll couple any action with expanding resources and services to support pregnant mothers, and care for their babies before and after birth,” he said.

About 7,200 Hoosier women have an abortion each year in the state according to data from the Indiana Division of Vital Records. The number who seek abortion out of state is not known.

Women who are denied an abortion are four times more likely to live in poverty, experience food insecurity and stay in contact with a violent partner according a 10-year study by the University of California San Francisco.

Under Indiana’s Safe Haven Law, a parent may legally surrender a newborn anonymously at over 90 “baby boxes” in the state. Nineteen infants have been surrendered in the past 20 years. Children left in baby boxes become the responsibility of the Indiana Department of Child Services.

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