A child advocacy group ranked Marengo County 57th out of 67 counties in the state for raising children.

Although the statistics may not appear to be the greatest, Apreill Curtis-Hartfield, Kids Count Director for Voices of Alabama, said that Marengo County improved slightly from last year in a study done by the group on the raising of children in the state.

The study looked at things such as infant mortality rate, child abuse, violent crime, children living in poverty as well as a many other indicators.

Curtis-Hartfield said that Marengo County improved in areas like the number of abused or neglected children, with a fewer number of children being abused in the county of Marengo as well as in the number of children, who need financial assistance from the state. Marengo also improved in areas such as the drop out rate as well as in the number of children living in poverty.

Curtis-Hartfield said that this is the 11th year that this study has been done, and that the purpose of the study is to help improve the conditions of children in Alabama.

Curtis-Hartfield said the study was handed out to elected officials, child’s advocates, law-makers as well as various other people throughout the state.

Curtis-Hartfield said that the study helps counties like Marengo because it shows that families need to invest in their children, and that if families support their children more, than the children benefit.