CLEVELAND -- According to a recent America's Children Report, the quality of life for our nation's children has improved in many ways, while taking a downturn in others.

Matt Carroll, the Director of Public Health in Cleveland, said what's happening nationwide provides a snapshot of our local situation, reported NewsChannel5's Tonya Strong.

“I think the good news for the city of Cleveland's children is that statistics in almost all of these areas is getting better,” said Carroll.

Highlights show the teen birth rate hitting a record low nationally, 23 births per 1,000 girls, with the greatest decline among black teenagers.

In Cleveland, there is also a decline -- 58 births per 1,000 girls. But this is still at a level that's unacceptable to the community.

The percentage of children living in poverty increased from 15.8 percent to 16.3 percent from 2001 to 2002, reflective of where Cleveland stands.

There's also room for improvement regarding better access to healthcare, but overall, in Cuyahoga County the number of uninsured children has significantly dropped in the past few years and health department officials feel that is due in part to special efforts to enroll children in the Healthy Start program.

To find out if your child is eligible to sign up for free health insurance, call the Cuyahoga County Healthy Start hotline at (216) 987-7346.