Once again Dallas County ranked near the bottom of the state when VOICES for Alabama’s Children released its annual review of child well-being.

Dallas County ranked 66 out of 67, with many of the individual categories also falling near the bottom. The individual categories include child death rate, vulnerable families, children in single-parent families and children in poverty. Dallas County also ranked low on the list last year.

We aren’t so much concerned with a number on a list but rather the real-world manifestations of VOICES’ findings.

Children often eat as much as possible at school because food will be limited once they return home. Parents are unable to give children their full attention because they are preoccupied, working two or three jobs.

Bills get paid, but children are left behind.

In addition to living in sometimes impoverished environments, our children are uneducated. It’s not simply book smarts, but basic street smarts.

Many of the problems with child well-being can undoubtedly be tied to our immense poverty rate.

Without quality jobs, top-notch students will migrate to other cities after high school. The ones who stay probably don’t have the means to move to a better community and may be undereducated.

Don’t worry. Dallas County doesn’t have to bleed qualified individuals forever.

With a quality education system, our area can attract better jobs to the area and slowly, but surely, reduce our poverty problem. And a reduction in poverty will improve our child well being ranking.

How do we do it? How do we improve the quality of education in the county.

It starts by interacting with your children at birth. Take a few seconds to interact with your young children when you get home from a long day of work.

We know. You’re tired, but it’s important to stimulate a child’s brain while it is developing. Even something as simple as playing with colored blocks could go a long way toward good grades in school.

If your child gets an adequate understanding of basic concepts, like the alphabet and colors, before formal schooling, they will adapt to new concepts much easier.

Then, once your child is in school, be a good parent. Make sure he or she is doing their homework. Tell them to stay away from drugs. And tell them that having kids in high school is a bad idea.

You may not have the means to afford private schooling, but public schools work when educators find partners in the parents of the children they are trying to teach.

If Dallas County can produce more productive members of society, companies will take note and set up shop in Dallas County. Perhaps our children will also live better lives.

We have a decision to make.

Our area could continue to hover near the bottom of the state. Or, we could become the jewel of the Black Belt, by making a concerted effort to invest in our future — the children of Dallas County.