According to a new study, Oklahoma's older teens and young adults are more at risk than their peers in 41 states and D.C.
According to a WalletHub analysis, Oklahoma has high proportions of youth not working, not attending school, without a degree, overweight or obese, or homeless.
The state has a couple of top-10 rankings it doesn’t want, like ninth in the percentage of youth without a high school diploma.
"Just under 17 percent — anything over 10 percent is cause for concern," said WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez. "When we're looking at the percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds that are overweight or obese, Oklahoma has the fourth-highest rate in the country at just under 50 percent."
Gonzalez said overweight and obese youths are less able to do things like work or serve in the military.
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy CEO Joe Dorman said interventions early in life to keep kids healthy, learning and out of poverty make later issues less likely, and, despite budget problems, the state has services available.
"One of the things the state does a horrible job at is getting that information out to those families that truly do need that assistance and need that help," Dorman said.
Dorman, however, added that the need for Oklahomans to help each other is greater than ever. That help can come from individuals or through private partnerships, like police athletic leagues — something OICA is involved in.
"In particular, we're going to be working with Tulsa to try and encourage more after-school activities for kids, so I've got great hope that we will overcome some of the problems like that by doing some of these partnerships," Dorman said.
