North Dakota's infant mortality rate has dropped below the national average but the high school dropout rate is no longer the lowest in the nation, an annual report shows.

The 2007 Kids Count report, released on Wednesday and funded by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranked North Dakota 8th among all states for children's well-being. Last year's report ranked it ninth.

The report measures 10 categories related to health, family and education. North Dakota ranked among the top 10 in seven of them.

North Dakota has been in the top 10 overall since the Kids Count study was first done in 1990, said Helen Danielson, North Dakota's Kids Count coordinator.

"We have consistently ranked in the top 10, so it means we're doing quite well, I think," Danielson said.

This year's study found that the state improved in infant mortality rates, as well as in the number of children who are living in poverty and whose parents lack full-time work.

North Dakota's infant mortality rate improved by 31 percent, ranking the state 12th. The state recorded 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004. The national rate was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The study showed that the percentage of the state's children living in poverty dropped from 15 percent to 13 percent from 2000-2005, while the national average increased by 12 percent.

"There are still tremendous pockets of poverty in the state that we should not ignore," Danielson said. "Poverty can be the base for a lot of other problems."

The study found that the state lost ground in five categories, including its child death rate and the percentage of teens who are high school dropouts.

The national teen death rate decreased by 9 percent from 2000 to 2004, but North Dakota had a 37 percent increase over the same period. Twenty-six out of 100,000 children died in North Dakota in 2004, up from 19 per 100,000 four years earlier. The national rate is 20 deaths per 100,000 children. The state ranked 36th in that category.

North Dakota's high school dropout rate was 5 percent, dropping the state from No. 1 to No. 4 in the nation, the report said. Nationally, the dropout rate is 7 percent.

The state's small population makes its ranking volatile, Danielson said.

"A small change in a small number for events from year to year will produce a large percentage change," Danielson said.

The report said 1,969 children under age 18 in North Dakota lived in foster care at some point in 2004, a rate of 14 per 1,000 children. Nationally, 10 children per 1,000 under age 18 live in foster care, the report said.

Paul Ronningen, director of the state Children and Family Services Division, said the number of children in foster care is more than 2,000. He said parents' drug and alcohol abuse accounts for about 70 percent of foster care placements.

Minnesota, New Hampshire and Connecticut ranked among the best in children's well-being nationally, while Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were the lowest.