Alabama has moved up one spot to 44th in the Kids Count national rankings.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released the Kids Count data book Monday. Alabama showed improvements in children's health and education between 2005 and 2011. The teen birth rate declined and the rate of high school students not graduating in four years also declined.
The executive director of VOICES for Alabama's Children, Linda Tilley, said Alabama is showing momentum after ranking 46th, 47th and 48th for many years. But she said one area of concern in the new data book is that the percentage of Alabama children living in poverty increased from 25 percent to 28 percent.