The U.S. Virgin Islands has made progress in several key measures affecting children and families over the past five years, but significant challenges remain in education, economic opportunity, and housing, according to new KIDS COUNT data released Tuesday.

The findings come as the Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national report examining child well-being across the United States. While the territory is not included in the report’s state rankings because the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey is not conducted in the Virgin Islands, local data compiled by St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT USVI initiative paints a picture of both progress and persistent concerns.

Among the report’s bright spots, the territory’s unemployment rate declined from 6% in 2019 to 4% in 2024. Public school graduation rates also rose sharply, increasing from 70.9% to 81% during the same period.

Student performance in English Language Arts showed improvement as well, with the percentage of students reaching proficiency climbing to its highest level since the 2020-21 school year.

Those gains, however, were accompanied by troubling trends.

Math proficiency declined compared to 2020-21 levels, and 546 students dropped out of the public school system between the 2020-21 and 2023-24 school years. Annual dropout rates during that period ranged from 2.2% to 4%, according to KIDS COUNT USVI data.

Economic indicators also revealed ongoing disparities. While unemployment fell, average hourly wages in the territory remained 24% below the national U.S. average.

Health data showed continued population declines reflected in lower fertility rates and fewer live births in 2023. The Virgin Islands Department of Health also reported that 5.3% of babies born that year had a low birth weight.

In the area of family and community well-being, the report found that the number of households with children living in public housing increased despite an overall decline in the territory’s child population — a trend that suggests a growing share of children are living in economically disadvantaged housing situations.

The report’s release also renewed attention to longstanding concerns about data collection in the territory.

In a statement accompanying the release, St. Croix Foundation noted that the Virgin Islands continues to be excluded from some major national data sets and faces challenges related to delayed reporting, outdated tracking systems, and limited coordination among agencies responsible for collecting and sharing information.

“Behind every number in this report is a child who is either hungry or fed, housed or homeless, progressing academically or falling behind. No state is consistently getting this right,” Annie E. Casey Foundation President and CEO Lisa M. Lawson said in a statement. “The Data Book challenges us to follow the evidence and do what delivers results.”

This year marks the first time the national KIDS COUNT Data Book includes a comprehensive score for each state rather than relying solely on rankings. The new scoring system evaluates 16 indicators across four categories — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors — over a five-year period from 2019 through 2024.

To supplement the national report, St. Croix Foundation annually publishes territory-specific KIDS COUNT USVI reports. In 2024, the organization launched the territory’s first interactive KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard, providing public access to local child well-being indicators.

The 2026 national KIDS COUNT Data Book is available through the Annie E. Casey Foundation, while Virgin Islands-specific reports and data can be accessed through St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT USVI program.

Virgin Islands ferries between St. Thomas and St. John will be allowed to charge $0.66 more per ticket for the next three months to help alleviate costs from the spike in fuel prices, the Public Services Commission voted Tuesday.

The industry had asked for a $0.75 increase in May but the commission, which also oversees rates for the territory’s utilities, briefly considered $0.60 or $0.65 before settling on $0.66. The commission voted to have the increase end after 90 days.

There was some question about how the ferry companies — Varlack Ventures and Transportation Services — arrived at $0.66 but no question about the staggering increase in fuel prices. The ferry companies were paying as much as $7.68 per gallon, officials said.

The fuel relief came as the commission sought to assess and rearrange how the ferries charged passengers. A report drafted in late April suggested the industry may be making more money than allowed. Virgin Islands law allows the companies between 8% and 10% profit, according to the report. On $85 million revenue annually, the companies were collecting $7 million too much, the report said.

Commission chair David Hughes suggested the fuel surcharge could be taken from that $7 million rather than passed on to customers. A sticking point, however, was that the report and its findings had not been officially recognized or accepted by the commission. An attorney for the ferry industry had lodged a last-minute list of objections to the report that the commission did not address Tuesday because commissioners had not been able to read it on short notice.

Ferry operators have long rankled at regulation, a situation not alleviated by the commission’s inquiry into how the operations collect and spend their money. Most recently, the commission sought, and failed, to audit fuel consumption per route, per day, per year in an effort to pinpoint precisely how much money the companies needed to turn a profit between 8% and 10%.

“We have not accomplished the goal of the audit, which was to understand the fuel consumption of the three boats,” Hughes lamented. “We have data integrity issues and this is a big number that needs to be checked.”

The commission was also considering changing how the ferries charged — not just ticket price, but who paid what. There were six classes of ferry rider, Hughes said, each paying a different rate: children, students, senior citizens, adult residents, adult nonresidents, and bulk ticket buyers.

Hughes suggested, once the commission better knew the ferries’ finances, tickets could be made free-for-all children and seniors, and possibly even all local adults as well.

“It’s an opportunity to do something special for the Virgin Islands residents,” he said.

If all Virgin Islanders rode for free, all visitors would have to pay around $11 to cover the lost revenue, he said.

Sen. Carla Joseph, an ex-oficio commissioner, acknowledged she didn’t know how much it cost to put baggage on the ferry, then suggested the rate be raised from $4 to $6, or even $10.