Louisiana and Mississippi ranked last and next to last, respectively, on a yearly survey of child well-being across the nation.

But when one Mississippi group dedicated to improving the lives of children looked at the Kids Count data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, one indicator jumped out at them: a 23 percent increase in the percentage of children living in families with secure parental employment.

Thirty percent of the state’s children are not in families with secure employment; the national average is 27 percent.

&uot;You could see that something was working,&uot; said Boykin, president of the Forum for Children and Families. &uot;That something was economic development. Economic development will drive child well-being.&uot;

In addition to that improvement, the state improved better than the national average in four other areas: percent of low-birthweight babies, child death rate, percent of teens not attending school and not working, and percent of children in poverty.

&uot;For once we can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel,&uot; Boykin said. &uot;This is a big jump that shows how very important economic development is to the children of our state.&uot;

Overall, the state ranked 49th in child well-being. National and state numbers were released today; data for individual counties will be released in January.

Boykin hopes the Kids Count data will influence state lawmakers when they head back to the state Capitol for this summer for a special session whose focus will be economic development.

&uot;Between now and then we’re going to be out there with this message,&uot; Boykin said. &uot;We hope we aren’t the only voice.&uot;

Because while Mississippi ranks third in the nation for the number of children living with working parents, Boykin said the state has not invested in support services for working families.

&uot;We still rank at the bottom in too many Kids Count indicators, because there has not been a corresponding increase in the state’s investment in support services for working families,&uot; she said.

One solution, Boykin said, would be for the state to return a portion of the revenue generated by the increase in working families to the communities where these families live and work.

&uot;Yes, it’s a challenge, but one we can meet,&uot; Boykin said. &uot;Kids Count data has proven the impact parental employment has on child well-being. We must use our success as a rallying cry for government and business leaders to take the lead and give families the tools they need to be successful employees and successful parents.&uot;

Still, Mississippi’s low rank is frustrating for Boykin and her organization.

&uot;It is frustrating. We’ve been saying that for years,&uot; Boykin said. But in order to improve even more, &uot;our challenge is to really get some wind in our sails,&uot; she said.

But life for children in Louisiana remains riskier, harder and poorer than anywhere else in the country, according to the Casey Foundation.

The report shows that the number of babies born with low weight and living in single-parent families grew in 1997, giving the state the worst numbers in the country in those categories.

By 1997, there had been a 1 percent increase in low birth-weight babies compared to 1990 and an 8 percent increase of children living in homes with one parent, the report says.

However, there are some positive trends: Fewer children are dying and living in poverty and more are graduating from high school, the report says.

”The good news is that we are doing better, but the bad news is that we’re still 50th,” said Judy Watts, CEO of Agenda for Children, a New Orleans-based child advocacy group.

The root of Louisiana’s problems is poverty, she said.

A third of the state’s children live in poverty and about half of the children in New Orleans are from poor families.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.