Kids Count 2012 Data Book Full Report

statetrendsinchildwell-being
databook
KIDS COUNT
2012
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
statetrendsinchildwell-being
databook
KIDS COUNT
2012
ACKNOwleDgmeNTS
The Annie E. Casey Foundations KIDS COUNT Data Book could not be produced and distributed without the help of numerous people. The publication was assembled and produced under the general direction of Laura Speer. Other Casey staff who contributed to this report include Dennis Campa, Sue Lin Chong, Arin Gencer, Florencia Gutierrez, Lisa Hamilton, John Hodgins, Jann Jackson, Michael Laracy and Norris West. Nancy Cauthen provided writing and research support. The Population Reference Bureau was instrumental in the development of the new KIDS COUNT index and in the collection and organization of data presented in this book. We are especially grateful to Jean DAmico, Genevieve Dupuis, Linda Jacobsen, Mark Mather and Kelvin Pollard. Special thanks are also due the staff at KINETIK Communication Graphics, Inc., for design and production services; the staff at Hager Sharp, for helping to promote and disseminate the Data Book; Connie Dykstra of The Hatcher Group, for managing production; and Jayson Hait of eye4detail, for proofreading and copyediting.
Finally, we would like to thank the state KIDS COUNT projects (see page 53), for making the Data Book available to national, state and local leaders across the country. Permission to copy, disseminate or otherwise use information from this Data Book is granted as long as appropriate acknowledgment is given. The 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book can be viewed, downloaded or ordered on the Internet at www.kidscount.org.
OutreachPartners
The Annie E. Casey Foundation wishes to thank our Outreach Partners for their support and assistance in promoting and disseminating the 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book. With the help of our partners, data on the status and well-being of kids and families are shared with policymakers, advocates, practitioners and citizens to help enrich local, state and national discussions on ways to improve outcomes for Americas most vulnerable children. To learn more about the Annie E. Casey Foundations 2012 KIDS COUNT Outreach Partners, please visit datacenter.kidscount.org/ DataBook/2012/OutreachPartners.aspx.
CONTeNTS
4 10 16 20 22 28 32 36 40 43 44 50 53 56
FOrewOrD INDex TreNDS OverallChildwell-Being economicwell-Being education Health FamilyandCommunity CONClUSION KIDSCOUNTDATACeNTer APPeNDICeS Definitionsand DataSources PrimaryContactsfor StateKIDSCOUNTProjects AbouttheAnniee.Casey FoundationandKIDSCOUNT
FOrewOrD
2012KIDSCOUNTDATABOOK
eachyear,theAnniee.CaseyFoundationpublishesthe KIDSCOUNTDataBook,whichtracksthewell-beingofour nationschildren,statebystate.Aswereleasethisyears DataBook,our23rd,Americaschildrenandfamiliesface acrossroad.Aftertheworsteconomiccrisissincethe greatDepression,oureconomyhasbeguntoslowlyrecover. Unemploymenthasdeclinedandstaterevenuesaretrending upward.Buttherecoveryisfragile.manyfamiliesarestill copingwithhardshipcausedbyalonganddeeprecession, andstatesandlocalitiesstillfaceseriousfiscalchallenges.
While we continue to manage the fallout from the downturn, as conditions improve, we should refocus our attention on strengthening our economy, communities and families for the future. Before turning to the current state of child well-being in the United States, I encourage you to take a particularly close look at this years Data Book because weve made some important changes. To take advantage of the tremendous growth in research and data about child development, we developed a more comprehensive index to measure child well-being and rank states. The new KIDS COUNT index includes
child-level indicators across four domains: (1) Economic Well-Being, (2) Education, (3) Health and (4) Family and Community. Domain-specific data allow for more fine-grained analysis of child well-being in each state, especially in cases where a state excels in one or two areas but lags behind in others. This more sophisticated, domainbased approach is the most significant change to the KIDS COUNT Data Book since we began tracking child well-being more than two decades ago. We hope youll find it provides you with a more useful picture of the status of children in each of the states and our nation as a whole.
State trendS in child well-being
TheAnniee.CaseyFoundation|aecf.org
AmixedPictureforChildren intheUnitedStates
As our findings and other data reveal, many aspects of child well-being have improved considerably over time, while advances in other areas have eroded. In some domains, such as Education, wide inequities among children tempered progress for all. Despite perennial handwringing about a crisis in education, high school graduation rates and national math and reading scores for students of all races and income levels are higher than ever.1 Although theres plenty of room for improvement, the overall trend is positive. However, we continue to see deep disparities in educational achievement by race and especially by income. A recent Stanford study found that the gap in standardized test scores between affluent and low-income students has grown by about 40 percent since the 1960s and is now double the testing gap between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites, which declined over the same period.2 Comprehensive early childhood programs and high-quality preschool can help improve school readiness among low-income children, and access to such programs has increased. But only a small percentage of poor children participate in programs of sufficient quality and intensity to overcome the developmental deficits associated with chronic economic hardship and low levels of parental education. Over the past couple of decades, many child health and safety outcomes have significantly improved. Mortality rates
Unlikethedomainsof educationandHealth, wherechildrenare benefitingfromlong- termprogressoverall, theeconomicwell-Being ofchildrenandfamilies hasplummetedbecause oftherecession.
have fallen for children of all ages as a result of medical advances and increased vigilance about safety, such as more widespread seat belt and car seat use. The rate of health insurance coverage among children has improved slightly despite declines in employer-sponsored coverage; public health insurance has more than filled the gap. On the flip side, obesity poses a growing health threat, especially to low-income and minority children. The prevalence of childhood obesity has tripled during the past 30 years. Obesity increases the risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol, which, if left untreated, raise the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.3 Unlike the domains of Education and Health, where children are benefiting from long-term progress overall, the Economic Well-Being of children and families has plummeted because of the recession. After declining significantly in the late 1990s, child poverty began to rise even before the economic crisis. In 2000, the official child poverty rate, which is a conservative measure of economic hardship, was 17 percent. From 2000 to 2010, the number of children living in poverty jumped from 12.2 million to 15.7 million, an increase of nearly 30 percent. The additional 3.5 million children living in poverty is nearly equivalent to the entire population of the city of Los Angeles. Stubbornly high unemployment and pervasive underemployment continue to threaten the financial status of middle-class families while creating deeper hardship for low-income families and communities. The foreclosure crisis, which has already created residential instability for an estimated
2012 kids count data book
5 million to 6 million children, is far from over. African-American and Latino communities have sustained the greatest losses, widening the already enormous racial and ethnic gap in homeownership.4 Perhaps the most devastating economic effect of the recession and foreclosure crisis for families has been the massive loss of home equity, savings and other assets that parents work so hard to accumulate in the hopes of building a better future for their children. Nonetheless, there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the prospects for improving outcomes for children. Now that the recovery is underway, we can begin to shift gears. As we move forward, we must continue to protect the most vulnerable and those hardest hit by the recession. And, we must also ensure that vulnerable children and their families have access to pragmatic, evidence-based services and supports to get families back on a path toward economic success and to improve the health and wellbeing of our nations children.
TheeconomicandPoliticallandscape forImprovingChildwell-Being
Economic and job growth have been uneven in 2012. At the end of April, the unemployment rate was at its lowest level since January 2009. However, in May, there was a slight uptick in the jobless rate. Whatever the short-term fluctuations, economists caution that it will take several more years before the unemployment rate in the United States returns to prerecession levels. The economic crisis caused the largest decline in state revenues on record. After
bottoming out in 2010, revenues have begun to grow again; but at the end of 2011, state revenues were still 7 percent below prerecession levels.5 After multiple years of budget shortfalls, states have fewer options for closing current gaps. Most states have already made deep cuts in services and exhausted any reserves. Emergency federal aid largely expired a year ago, and looming federal cuts will likely exacerbate states already precarious fiscal condition. As policymakers seek to restore fiscal health to their states, we urge them to refrain from making further cuts to health care, education and programs that assist vulnerable children and families. Beyond the constraints posed by a nascent but fragile economic recovery and tight state budgets, the persistent paralysis of our current political culture is another potential obstacle to improving policies for children and families. It is critical that we find ways to come together on common ground. We need to make smart investments to restore what has been lost and to move forward to help children and families. These should be goals on which political partisans can agree, and we hope that our elected officials at the state and federal levels will rise to the occasion.
TheChallengeAhead
In a recent study of 31 developed countries, the United States ranked 27th in measures of equal opportunity, which predict whether children will have the life chances necessary for them to thrive and mature into contributors to a future
wemustcometogether andcommitourselves toinvestingintoday's youngfamiliestoimprove thefutureforchildren, thenextgeneration andournation.
that sustains the American Dream. The study examined several areas, including poverty, unemployment, income inequality, education, health and social mobility.6 The investments that we make in children greatly affect most of these measures. We know what it takes for children to thrive and to become successful adults. We have reams of research and data identifying the best predictors of success: getting a healthy start at birth and maintaining healthy development in the early years; being raised by two married parents; having adequate family income; doing well in school, graduating high school and completing postsecondary education or training; avoiding teen pregnancy and substance abuse; staying out of trouble; and becoming connected to work and opportunity. At the Annie E. Casey Foundation, we focus on three factors that can positively or negatively influence child well-being. First, we know that family economic opportunity and security are critical to child well-being. Growing up in poverty is strongly associated with bad outcomes for children. On almost every measure, children who experience chronic or deep poverty, especially when they are young, face tougher developmental and social barriers to success. Even brief experiences of poverty in early childhood can have lasting effects on health, education, employment and earning power. The most effective way to ensure that every child has opportunities to succeed is through a two-generation strategy that simultaneously strengthens parents work attachment, income and assets while
investing in their childrens healthy development and educational success. Second, we know that a strong, nurturing two-parent family can protect children from economic hardship and other risks. Children who have a permanent sense of connection to their families fare much better on average, even if they experience poverty, when compared to children who are removed from their families because of abuse, neglect or criminal behavior or who grow up disconnected from one or both parents. We need proven, evidence-based innovations within public systems to keep children connected to their families or other caring adults, especially when families encounter a crisis and when youth get into trouble with the law. Third, where a child grows up can make a huge difference. A low-income child living in a flourishing communitywith good schools, safe streets, strong civic institutions, positive role models and connections to opportunitiesis more likely to thrive and succeed. That same child living in a community of concentrated povertywith high crime, poor schools and environmental hazardsis far more likely to get off track in school, become involved with gangs or other negative peer influences and fail to transition to successful employment. Community investments that focus on the social and economic well-being of neighborhoods can provide a foundation for childrens futures. Finally, we must acknowledge and confront the enormous racial and ethnic disparities that impact childrens chances of success. African-American children are
nine times as likely as non-Hispanic white children to live in high-poverty census tracts. For Latino children, the risk is more than six times that of white children.7 African-American and Latino children are far more likely than white children to live in poor families, regardless of whether they live in high-poverty neighborhoods. In 2010, the poverty rate for African-American children (38 percent) was nearly three times the rate for their white peers (13 percent); the child poverty rate for Latinos (32 percent) was two and a half times that for white children (see Figure 1).8 As the data in the pages ahead will show, millions of American children are growing up with risk factors that predict that they will not succeed in the world they will inherit. And, if they dont succeed, this country will become increasingly less able to compete and thrive in the global economy, thereby affecting the standard of living and the strength of our nation for all of us. We are all responsible for finding solutions to the challenges we face. The choice is ours. We can choose to watch the promise of the American Dream slip away. Or, we can choose to come together as a nation, in a spirit of shared responsibility and shared sacrifice, and commit ourselves to investing in todays young families to improve the future for children, the next generation and our nation.
FIgUre1
Children in Poverty by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010
National Average
African American American Indian Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic Non-Hispanic White
22% 38% 35% 14% 32% 13%
SOUrCeU.S.CensusBureau,2010AmericanCommunitySurvey. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansandPacificIslanders alsoincludethosewhoareHispanic.
PatrickT.mcCarthy PresidentandCeO TheAnniee.CaseyFoundation
INDex
ANewKIDSCOUNTINDex
Since1990,KIDSCOUNThasrankedstatesannuallyon overallchildwell-beingusinganindexof10indicators.Over time,wechangedsomeoftheindicatorstoreplaceweaker measureswithstrongerones,buttheoverallscopeofthelist remainedconsistent.Duringthetwodecadesthatwehave producedtheKIDSCOUNTDataBook,researchonchild developmentandwell-beinghasproliferated.
In this years Data Book, weve updated our index to take advantage of these advances in knowledge and the availability of new state-level data to create a more robust tool to better serve the needs of the field. A recent review of the literature reveals that while there is no consensus on the best model to track child well-being, there is growing agreement that measurement of child well-being should do the following: Acknowledge that childrens lives are affected by both positive/protective and negative/risk factors; Recognize that children are affected by the environment in which they live, including their family, peer relationships, communities, institutions and cultural influences; Capture both basic survival (such as mortality and basic health) and quality of life (such as life skills and childrens happiness);
Include multiple domains (such as health, education and material well-being) that have a significant influence on a childs life; Incorporate the developmental stages of childhood; and Include indicators of current child wellbeing as well as factors that affect future outcomes as children move into adulthood.9 Keeping these basic concepts in mind, we decided to revisit our index. We consulted with a wide range of content and statistical experts and conducted an extensive review of the latest research on child development. We reviewed the use of domains across similar studies worldwide as well as the implications of adding domains to the Data Book methodology. As we identified indicators most connected to long-term success, we then attempted to find comparably collected, state-level data to track them. After analyzing
11
Organizingtheindex intodomainsallows foramorenuanced characterizationofchild well-beingineachstate thatcaninformpolicy solutionsbyhelping policymakersand advocatesbetteridentify areasofstrength andweakness.
available data, we selected 16 indicators that reflect a wide range of factors affecting child well-being and that are collected for all states on at least a biannual basis. To avoid redundancy, indicators that were too closely related were replaced with indicators that tracked different critical areas of child well-being. (For a more thorough description of the KIDS COUNT index review and revision process, please visit datacenter.kidscount.org/databook/2012.)
health and education outcomes as well as risk and protective factors, such as economic well-being, family structure and community context. The index incorporates a developmental perspective on childhood and includes experiences across life stages, from birth through early adulthood. The indicators are consistently and regularly measured, which allows for legitimate comparisons across states and over time.
UnderstandingtherevisedIndex
FourKeyDomainsofChildwell-Being The most significant change to the index is the creation of four content domains that capture what children need most to thrive: (1) Economic Well-Being, (2) Education, (3) Health and (4) Family and Community. Four indicators compose each of the four domains for a total of 16. For a list of indicators by domain, see Figure 2, New KIDS COUNT Index. Organizing the index into domains allows for a more nuanced characterization of child well-being in each state that can inform policy solutions by helping policymakers and advocates better identify areas of strength and weakness. For example, a state may rank well above average in overall child well-being while showing need for improvement in education. Domain-specific data will strengthen decision-making efforts by providing multiple data points relevant to specific policy areas. The new index possesses a number of important attributes. It reflects child
HowtheIndexIsCalculated The new KIDS COUNT index was constructed by first converting the raw data for each of the 16 indicators into standard scores. Standardization is necessary because the distributions vary across different measures. For example, the percentage of children without health insurance ranges from 2 percent in Massachusetts and Vermont to 17 percent in Nevada. The teen birth rate ranges from 16 births per 1,000 female teens in New Hampshire to 64 births per 1,000 female teens in Mississippi and New Mexico. By standardizing these measures, we make sure that each indicator is given equal weight in the index. Once standardized, the scores for each indicator are summed to create a total standard score for each state. These totals are ordered from highest to lowest and then translated into rankings with 1 being the best on overall child well-being and 50 the worst. Each indicator is given equal weight in the individual domain indices, and each domain is given equal weight in the overall index. For a detailed description of the methodology used to calculate the index, visit datacenter. kidscount.org/databook/2012.
12
FIgUre2
New KIDS COUNT Index
ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg
Children living in
EDUCATION
Children not attending
preschool
Children in poverty Children whose parents
households with a high housing cost burden
Eighth graders not

proficient in math
lack secure employment
Teens not in school

and not working
Fourth graders not
proficient in reading
High school students
not graduating on time
HEAlTH
Child and teen deaths
per 100,000
FAmIly AND COmmUNITy

Children in single-parent
families
low-birthweight babies Children without
Children living
in high-poverty areas
health insurance
Teens who abuse

alcohol or drugs
Children in families where

the household head lacks a high school diploma
Teen births per 1,000
13
Byexpandingtheindex anddividingtheindicators intofourequallyweighted domains,thereisagreater emphasisoneducation andfamilyandcommunity factors.And,thehealth indicatorsfocusmore onhealthstatusand lessonmortality.
AbouttheData The 16 indicators of child well-being are derived from federal government statistical agencies and reflect the best available state and national data for tracking yearly changes. For a complete description of the definitions and the data sources for each indicator, see page 50. It is important to recognize that many of the indicators are derived from samples, and like all sample data, they contain some random error. Other measures (such as the child and teen death rate) are based on relatively small numbers of events in some states and may exhibit some random fluctuation from year to year. We urge readers to focus on relatively large differences across states as small differences may simply reflect random fluctuations, rather than real changes in the well-being of children. Assessing trends by looking at changes over a longer period of time is more reliable. State-level data for past years are available at the KIDS COUNT Data Center (datacenter. kidscount.org). The KIDS COUNT Data Book utilizes rates and percentages because that is the best way to compare states to one another and to assess changes over time within a state. However, our focus on rates and percentages may mask the magnitude of some of the problems examined in the report. Therefore, data on the actual number of children or events are provided in Appendix 2 and at the KIDS COUNT Data Center. We include data for the District of Columbia and some data for Puerto Rico
in the Data Book, but not in our state rankings. Because they are significantly different from any state, the comparisons are not instructive. It is more useful to look at changes for these geographies over time or to compare the District with other large cities. Data for many child well-being indicators for the 50 largest cities (including the District of Columbia) are available at the KIDS COUNT Data Center. Additionally, the Data Center contains some data for children and families residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
whatsexcluded We excluded a wide range of additional variables from our new child well-being index for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to limit the number of indicators to keep the index manageable and easy to understand. We considered quite a few indicators that were ultimately discarded because they were highly correlated with other important variables we already had selected. For example, food insecurity is a common measure of economic well-being, but it is so strongly related to poverty that it would have added little to the Economic Well-Being domain. We determined that it was more useful to include other dimensions, such as having a high housing cost burden. Second, our selection of indicators was limited by data availability. Although data collection has proliferated and improved, and this is reflected in some of the indicators we added, there are some variables that affect child well-being for which comparable, consistently collected statelevel data dont exist. Arguably, the
14
indicator that is most glaring in its absence is some measure of childhood obesity. National estimates indicate that the percent of children who are overweight or obese has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, with negative consequences for child health. However, no consistent
state-level data are currently available. Additionally, reliable state-level measures of childhood mental health, juvenile justice involvement and child maltreatment are either not regularly collected or are not collected in a sufficiently comparable form for inclusion in the index.
How Does the New Index Compare With Previous years?

Sixofthe10indicatorsfrom lastyearsKIDSCOUNTData Bookareincludedinthenew index.Twoothersthedeath rateamongchildrenages1to 14andthedeathrateforteens 15to19havebeencombined intoasinglemortalityratefor childrenandyouth.Oneprevious indicator,percentofteensnot inschoolandnothighschool graduates,hasbeenreplaced withpercentofhighschool studentsnotgraduatingontime. Inaddition,infantmortalitywas eliminatedbecauseitisclosely relatedtothepercentofbabies bornwithalowbirthweight, whichremainsinthenewindex. Byexpandingtheindexand dividingtheindicatorsintofour equallyweighteddomains,there isagreateremphasisoneducationandfamilyandcommunity factors.And,thehealthindicatorsfocusmoreonhealthstatus andlessonmortality.Therefore, astatelikeCalifornia,where childrentendtohaverelatively goodhealthoutcomesbutlag behindtherestofthecountry inareassuchaseducationand economicwell-being,dropped significantlyintheoverall rankingsthisyearcompared topreviousDataBookrankings. Butevenwiththisyearschanges, thecorrelationbetween theoverallstaterankingsfor 2012(usingthenewindex)and for2011(usingtheprevious index)isquitehigh(0.9).In otherwords,despitechangesin theindex,moststatesendedup inroughlythesameplaceinthe rankingsastheydidlastyear. Notethatdataforindicatorsincludedintheprevious indexbutnotinthenewone arestillavailableattheKIDS COUNTDataCenter(datacenter. kidscount.org).
15
TreNDS
STATUSOFCHIlDreN
Thefollowingpagespresentadetailedportraitofthewell-being ofAmericaschildren.Atthenationallevel,thisyearsDataBook presentsthemostrecenttrends,startingfromroughly2005and endingwiththemostrecentyearavailable,dependingonthedata availabilityforeachindicator.withthesedata,weareableto comparehowthenationschildrenwerefaringmid-decade,prior totheeconomiccrisis,withhowtheyaredoinginitsaftermath. rankingsatthestatelevelarefocusedonthemostrecentdata.

Profile Pages Online
Nationalandstateprofiles providingcurrentandtrenddata forall16indicatorsareavailable atdatacenter.kidscount.org/ databook/2012/profiles. Nationalandstatedataare alsoavailableinAppendix2 onpage46.
17
FIgUre3
National Trends in 16 Key Indicators of Child Well-Being by Domain
PerCeNTCHANge OverTIme
GettinG better
GettinG worse
no chanGe
ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg
Key Indicators 2010 2005 National Trend Key Indicators
EDUCATION
National Trend 200810 200507
Children in poverty
22% 19% 33% 27% 41% 37% 9% 8%
16%
Children not attending preschool Fourth graders not proficient in reading Eighth graders not proficient in math High school students not graduating on time
53% 56% 68% 70% 66% 72% 24% 27%
-5%
Children whose parents lack secure employment Children living in households with a high housing cost burden Teens not in school and not working
2010 2008
22%
2011 2005
-3%
2010 2005
11%
2011 2005
-8%
2010 2008
13%
2008/09 2005/06
-11%
HEAlTH
Key Indicators 2009 2005 National Trend Key Indicators

National Trend 2010 2005
low-birthweight babies
8.2% 8.2% 8% 10% 27 32 7% 8%
0%
Children in single-parent families Children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma Children living in high-poverty areas
34% 32% 15% 16% 11% 9% 39 40
6%
Children without health insurance Child and teen deaths per 100,000 Teens who abuse alcohol or drugs
2010 2008
-20%
2010 2005
-6%
2009 2005
-16%
200610 2000
22%
200809 200506
-13%
Teen births per 1,000
2009 2005
-3%
18
FIgUre4
National Key Indicators by Race and Hispanic Origin
ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg
National Average
African American
American Asianand Indian PacificIslander
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic white
OverallTrendsinChildwell-Being
Comparing the data from pre- and postrecession time frames reveals both positive and negative developments in child wellbeing nationally (see Figure 3). Broadly speaking, children experienced gains in the Education and Health domains but setbacks in the Economic Well-Being and Family and Community domains. All four Economic Well-Being indicators got substantially worse, which is not surprising, given the depth and severity of the economic crisis and continued high rates of unemployment. Conversely, all four Education indicatorswhich cover preschool to high school graduationshowed some improvement over the five-year period. Child health continued to improve, with gains in childrens health insurance coverage and reductions in child and teen mortality and teen substance abuse. The percent of low-birthweight babies, however, remained unchanged. Trends in the Family and Community domain were mixed. There were small declines in both the percent of children living with parents without a high school diploma and in the teen birth rate. But the percent of children living in singleparent families increased, and more children are living in high-poverty areas. Overall, developments in child well-being over the past several years suggest that progress has been made in some areas but that a lot of work remains to be done to improve the prospects for the next generation. Perhaps the most striking finding is that despite tremendous gains over recent decades for children of all races and income levels, inequities among children remain deep and stubbornly persistent (see Figure 4). The recession exacerbated some socioeconomic inequities that were already on the rise with potential negative consequences for the future.
Childreninpoverty:2010 Childrenwhoseparentslack secureemployment:2010 Childrenlivinginhouseholdswith ahighhousingcostburden:2010 Teensnotinschooland notworking:2010
22% 33% 41% 9%
38% 49% 53% 13%
35% 49% 36% 16%
14% 23% 42% 5%
32% 40% 52% 11%
13% 25% 32% 7%
EDUCATION
Childrennotattending preschool:200810 Fourthgradersnotproficient inreading:2011 eighthgradersnotproficient inmath:2011 Highschoolstudentsnot graduatingontime:2008/09
53% 68% 66% 24% 50% 84%* 87%* 37%* 59% 81%* 83%* 35%* 48% 51%* 45%* 8%* 63% 82% 80% 34% 50% 58% 57% 18%
HEAlTH
low-birthweightbabies:2009 Childrenwithouthealth insurance:2010 Childandteendeaths per100,000 :2009 Teenswhoabusealcohol ordrugs:2009^
8.2% 8% 27 7% 13.3% 7% 39 4%* 7.3% 18% 41 14%* 8.3% 8% 16 4%*+ 6.9% 14% 25 9% 7.2% 6% 25 7%

Childreninsingle-parent families:2010
34% 66% 15% 27% 59 52% 20% 24% 55 16% 12% 6% 15 41% 37% 19% 70 24% 7% 3% 25
Childreninfamilieswherethehousehold 15% headlacksahighschooldiploma:2010 Childrenlivinginhigh-poverty areas:200610 Teenbirthsper1,000 :2009

11% 39
*DataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansandPacificIslandersarefornon-Hispanicsineachrespectivegroup.
AllotherratesfortheseracialgroupsincludebothHispanicsandnon-Hispanics.
^Thesearesingle-yearracedatafor2009.Datainindexare200809multiyeardata. +DataresultsdonotincludeNativeHawaiians/PacificIslanders.
19
Overall Rank
NewHampshire massachusetts vermont NewJersey minnesota NorthDakota Connecticut Iowa Nebraska maryland Utah virginia maine Pennsylvania wisconsin Kansas SouthDakota washington wyoming Idaho Illinois Colorado Delaware Hawaii rhodeIsland missouri Ohio montana NewYork Alaska Indiana michigan Oregon NorthCarolina Kentucky Tennessee georgia Florida westvirginia Oklahoma California Arkansas SouthCarolina Texas Alabama Arizona louisiana 48 Nevada 49 Newmexico 50 mississippi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
OverAllCHIlDwell-BeINg
Nationaldatamaskagreatdealofstate-bystateandregionalvariationsinchildwell-being. Astate-levelexaminationofthedatarevealsa hardtruth:Achildschancesofthrivingdepend notjustonindividual,familialandcommunity characteristicsbutalsoonthestateinwhichshe isbornandraised.Statesvaryconsiderablyin theamountofwealthandotherresourcesthey possess.Statepolicychoicesalsostronglyinfluencechildrenschancesforsuccess. wederiveacompositeindexofoverallchildwellbeingforeachstatebycombiningdataacross thefourdomains:(1)economicwell-Being, (2)education,(3)Healthand(4)Familyand Community.Thesecompositescoresarethen translatedintoasinglestaterankingforchild well-being.Thethreehighestrankedstatesare NewHampshire,massachusettsandvermont; thethreelowestrankedstatesareNevada,New mexicoandmississippi(seebox,"Overallrank"). AsisapparentinFigure5,distinctregional patternsemergefromthestaterankings.All ofthenortheasternstatesrankinthetop15in
termsofoverallchildwell-beingexceptforrhode IslandandNewYork,bothofwhichfallinthe middle.Statesintheindustrialmidwestrankin themiddleonoverallchildwell-being,whilesome ofthestatesfartherwestminnesota,North Dakota,IowaandNebraskaareinthetop10. StatesintheSoutheast,Southwestand Appalachiawherethepooreststatesare locatedpopulatethebottomoftheoverall rankings.Infact,withtheexceptionof California,the17lowestrankedstatesinterms ofchildwell-beingarelocatedintheseregions. However,asisobviousinFigure5,overallstate rankingsobscuresomeimportantwithin-state variations.Thegraphichighlightsstatesranking bestoverallandineachdomain(represented byconcentriccircles)indarkercolorsandthose rankingworseinlightercolors.Althoughmore thanhalfthestates(26)rankedeitherinthe top25orbottom25acrossallfourdomains, theremainingstatesweresomewhatmixed. Forallstates,theindexilluminatesbrightspots androomforimprovement.
20
IW TC EM Overall Child Well-Being by State AM wederiveacompositeindexofoverallchildwell-beingforeachstate HN bycombiningdataacrossthefourdomains:(1)economicwell-Being,

FIgUre5
(2)education,(3)Healthand(4)FamilyandCommunity.Toseehow eachstaterankedoverallandbydomain,seeAppendix1.
JN
OvERAll RANK ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg EDUCATION HEAlTH FAmIly AND COmmUNITy
113 1425 2637 3850
YN
WY WA UT OR NM NV MT
mIDWEST
IA IN KS MI MN MO NE ND OH SD WI CT ME MA NH
Northeast
AP IR
IL
TV LA RA ED CD
west
WEST
midwest
ID HI CO CA AZ AK WV VA TX TN
AG YK
South
CN KO AL DM SM
NY PA RI VT AL AR DE FL GA KY
SC
OK
NC
MS
MD
LA
SOUTH
viewaninteractiveversion ontheDataCenterat: datacenter/kidscount.org/ databook/2012/
NORTHEAST
LF
NJ
CS
21
Economic Well-Being Domain Rank

NorthDakota Nebraska Iowa SouthDakota wyoming NewHampshire minnesota Kansas virginia Connecticut massachusetts vermont Utah maryland wisconsin Colorado Pennsylvania maine NewJersey montana missouri Alaska Delaware Indiana rhodeIsland Idaho Illinois washington Oklahoma Ohio Hawaii NewYork Texas SouthCarolina NorthCarolina michigan Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas westvirginia Oregon Alabama georgia Florida California Arizona louisiana 48 Newmexico 49 Nevada 50 mississippi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
eCONOmICwell-BeINg
Tohelpchildrengrowintosuccessful,productiveadults,theirparents needgoodjobswithgoodincomes,accesstoaffordablehousingand servicesandenoughassetstobuildabetterfuture.whenparents areunemployedortheirincomesarelow,theymaystruggletomeet theirchildrensmostbasicneedsforfood,safehousing,medicalcare andqualitychildcare.Theymaybeunabletoprovidebooks,toysand activitiesthataredevelopmentallyenriching.Inadequatefamilyincome andeconomicuncertaintyalsoincreaseparentalstress,which,inturn, cancausedepressionandanxietyandincreasetheriskofsubstance abuseanddomesticviolenceallofwhichcancompromiseparenting.10 whilethenegativeeffectsofpovertyonchildrenaretroublingintheir ownright,theyalsoincreasethechancesofpooroutcomesforyouth andyoungadults,suchasteenpregnancy,notgraduatingfromhigh school,poorhealthandlackofsecureemployment.11
22
KeYFINDINgSINeCONOmICwell-BeINg
2.4 mIllION CHIlDREN
1 OUT OF 3 CHIlDREN
Oneoutofthreechildrenlivesinafamily withoutsecurelyemployedparents.
Thechildpovertyrateincreasedfrom 19to22percentbetween2005and 2010,representinganincreaseof 2.4millionchildren.
41
ofChildren
1IN11 TEENS
Nationally,about1.6millionteensbetween theagesof16and19(9percent)were neitherinschoolnorworkingin2010, upfrom1.4millionin2008.
Fouroutof10childreninthe UnitedStatesliveinhouseholds withhighhousingcostburdens.
23
eCONOmICwell-BeINg
Childreninpoverty
On average, families need an income of roughly twice the official poverty level to meet their basic needs, including housing, food, transportation, health care and child care.
200% OF U.S. POvERTy THRESHOlD
$44,226
100% OF U.S. POvERTy THRESHOlD
$22,113
Growing up in poverty is one of the greatest threats to healthy child development. Poverty and financial stress can impede childrens cognitive development and their ability to learn. It can contribute to behavioral, social and emotional problems and poor health. The risks posed by economic hardship are greatest among children who experience poverty when they are young and among children who experience persistent and deep poverty.12 Already high compared with other developed nations, the child poverty rate in the United States increased dramatically as a result of the economic crisis. The official poverty line in 2010 was $22,113 for a family of two adults and two children.
Nationally,22percentofchildren(15.7million) livedinpoorfamiliesin2010,upfrom20percent in2009(14.7million).Thismeansthatthe numberofpoorchildrenincreasedbyroughly 1millioninasingleyear,aftertherecession wasofficiallyover.From2005to2010,thechild povertyrateincreasedfrom19to22percent, representinganincreaseof2.4millionchildren.
SlIgHTly mORE THAN
mORE THAN
1OUT OF 5
Oneoutoffivechildren (22percent)lived belowpovertyinthe UnitedStatesin2010.
2OUT OF 5
morethantwooutoffive (44percent)children livedinlow-incomefamilies intheUnitedStatesin2010.
Therateofchildpovertyfor2010ranged fromalowof10percentinNewHampshire toahighof33percentinmississippi. ThechildpovertyrateamongAfrican Americans(38percent)wasnearlythree timestheratefornon-Hispanicwhites (13percent)in2010.
SOUrCeU.S.CensusBureau,2010AmericanCommunitySurvey.
24
A Better measure of Poverty and the Role of the Social Safety Net
TherevampedKIDSCOUNTDataBookcontinues tousetheofficialfederalpovertymeasurefor state-levelchildpovertyrates.However,thisstatisticmeasuresonlythecashincomeavailableto families,withoutaccountingformanysafetynet supportsthatafamilymightreceive,suchasfederaltaxcredits,childcareandhousingvouchers, andfoodaidthroughtheSupplementalNutrition AssistanceProgram(formerlyFoodStamps). Theofficialmeasurealsofailstoadequately reflectthewaysinwhichcostslikehousingand childcarevaryfromregiontoregionandhave changeddramaticallyoverthepasthalf-century. Infact,researchershavequantifiedbasicliving expensesinspecificlocalitiesandfoundthat onaverage,familiesneedanincomeofroughly twicethefederalpovertyleveltocoverbasic expensesforhousing,food,transportation, healthcareandchildcare.13In2010,44percent (32.2million)ofU.S.childrenlivedinfamilies withincomesbelow200percentofthefederal povertylevel($44,226forafamilyoffour). Tobetterunderstandhowfamiliesarefaring,the U.S.CensusBureaurecentlycreatedaSupplementalPovertymeasure(SPm),whichmeasures theimpactofsocialprogramsandaccountsfor risingcosts,amongotherchanges.whilethe CensusBureaudoesnotyethavesufficientdata
(orfunding)tocalculatetheSPmatthestate level,thisnewnationalmeasureisanimportant advancementinunderstandingchildpovertyand theeffectsofsafetynetprogramsandtaxpolicies onfamilyeconomicwell-being. revisedpovertymeasuresshowthatin2010, ourexistingsocialsafetynetliftedmanyAmericansoutofpoverty.AccordingtotheCenteron BudgetandPolicyPriorities,whenkeysafetynet programswereincludedinapovertymeasure, some40millionpeoplein2010roseabove thepovertyline.Infact,thesignificant,but temporary,policychangesenactedaspartofthe 2009AmericanrecoveryandreinvestmentAct (ArrA)kept6.9millionpeopleoutofpoverty, including2.5millionchildren,makingthisoneof themosteffectivepiecesofanti-povertylegislationinournationshistory.14 whiletheseeffortsclearlydidnotgofarenough inpreventingallchildrenfromexperiencing povertyduringthiseconomiccrisis,using amoreinclusivemeasureofpovertyshows thatournationssocialsafetynetcananddoes succeedinhelpingfamiliesintimesofneed. ThoughtheSPmwillcontinuetoberefined overtime,itisanimportantstepinbetter understandingtheeconomicwell-beingofthe nationschildrenandfamilies.
Tobetterunderstandhow familiesarefaring,theU.S. CensusBureaurecently createdaSupplemental Povertymeasure,which measurestheimpact ofsocialprogramsand accountsforrisingcosts.
25
eCONOmICwell-BeINg
Childrenwhoseparents lacksecureemployment
Among Asian and Pacific Islander families, 23 percent of children had no parent with full-time, year-round employment in 2010, compared to more than twice that, 49 percent, for AfricanAmerican and American Indian children.
PerCeNTOFCHIlDreNwHOSePAreNTSlACKSeCUre emPlOYmeNTBYrACeANDHISPANICOrIgIN:2010
National Average
African American American Indian Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic Non-Hispanic White
33% 49% 49% 23% 40% 25%
Children living in families that lack secure parental employment, defined as those families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment, are particularly vulnerable. Without at least one parent employed full time, children are more likely to fall into poverty. Yet too many parents who want full-time work are forced to piece together part-time or temporary jobs that do not provide sufficient or stable income; some lack the education and skills needed to secure a good job. The recession exacerbated both unemployment and underemployment. Even a full-time job at low wages does not necessarily lift a family out of poverty. Without access to benefits and tax credits, one adult in a two-parent family with two children would need to earn $11.06 an hour$3.81 above the federal minimum wageworking 40 hours a week for 50 weeks a year just to reach the poverty line.
In2010,athirdofallchildrenintheU.S. (24.2million)livedinfamilieswherenoparent hadfull-time,year-roundemployment.Since 2008,thenumberofsuchchildrenclimbedby 4million,from27to33percent. Atthestatelevel,NorthDakotahadthe lowestpercentageofchildreninfamilies withoutsecureparentalemploymentin2010 (22percent),followedcloselybySouthDakota andwyomingat23percent.mississippihad thehighestrateat39percent.
SOUrCeU.S.CensusBureau,2010AmericanCommunitySurvey. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansandPacificIslanders alsoincludethosewhoareHispanic.
26
eCONOmICwell-BeINg
eCONOmICwell-BeINg
Childrenlivingin householdswithahigh housingcostburden
Teensnotinschool andnotworking
Family income is only one part of financial security; the cost of basic expenses also matters. Housing is typically one of the largest expenses that families face. This measure identifies the proportion of children living in households that spend more than 30 percent of their pretax income on housing, whether they are renters or homeowners. Low-income families, in particular, are unlikely to be able to meet all of their basic needs if housing consumes nearly a third or more of their income.
Acrossthenation,41percentofchildren livedinhouseholdswithahighhousingcost burdenin2010,comparedto37percentin 2005,an11percentincrease.Thatrepresents anincreasefrom27.4millionchildrento 30.1millionoverfiveyears. In2010,Californiahadthehighestpercentage ofchildrenastartling54percentlivingin householdsspendingmorethan30percentof incomeforhousing,whereasNorthDakotahad thelowest,19percent.eveninNorthDakota, nearlyoneinfivechildrenlivedinafamily burdenedbyhousingexpenses. In36statesandtheDistrictofColumbia,the percentageofchildrenlivinginhouseholdswitha highhousingcostburdenwas33percentormore.
Teens who leave school and do not become part of the workforce are at risk of experiencing negative outcomes as they transition to adulthood. The percent of teens not in school and not working (sometimes referred Nebraska and vermont had the lowest to as disconnected youth or idle teens) rate of teens not in school and reflects young people ages 16 to 19 who are not working, 4 percent, while Nevada not engaged in school or the workforce. had the highest rate, 15 percent. While those who have dropped out of school are clearly vulnerable, many young persons who have finished school but are not working are also at a disadvantage in achiev- PerCeNTOFTeeNSNOTINSCHOOl ANDNOTwOrKINg:2010 ing economic success in adulthood.
Nationally,9percentofyouthwere disconnectedfrombothworkandschoolin 2010.About1.6millionteensbetweentheages of16and19wereneitherenrolledinschool norworking,upfrom1.4millionin2008. Nebraskaandvermonthadthelowestrate ofteensnotinschoolandnotworking,4percent, whileNevadahadthehighestrate,15percent. AmericanIndian,African-Americanand latinoteenswereconsiderablymorelikelyto beneitherinschoolnorworkingthantheirwhite andAsianandPacificIslandercounterparts.
vermont Nevada Nebraska
4%
15%
4%
27
Education Domain Rank

massachusetts NewJersey vermont NewHampshire Connecticut maryland minnesota Pennsylvania Colorado wisconsin virginia Kansas montana Iowa Nebraska NorthDakota Illinois Ohio NewYork rhodeIsland SouthDakota Delaware maine missouri NorthCarolina washington Utah Kentucky wyoming Idaho Hawaii Texas michigan Arkansas Florida Indiana Oregon georgia Oklahoma SouthCarolina Alaska Tennessee California Alabama louisiana Arizona westvirginia 48 mississippi 49 Newmexico 50 Nevada
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
eDUCATION
establishingtheconditionsthatpromotesuccessfuleducational achievementforchildrenbeginswithqualityprenatalcareand continuesintotheearlyelementaryschoolyears.withastrong andhealthybeginning,itismucheasiertokeepchildrenontrack tostayinschoolandgraduate,pursuepostsecondaryeducation andtrainingandsuccessfullytransitiontoadulthood.Yet,the UnitedStatescontinuestohavesignificantgapsineducational achievementbyraceandincome.Althoughtheachievementgap betweenblackandwhitestudentshasnarrowedconsiderably overthepastfourdecades,theachievementgapbyincomehas steadilyincreased.15Addressingthisgapwillbekeytoensuringthat ourfutureworkforcecancompeteonaglobalscale,giventhat mostofthenewjobsthatwillbecreatedoverthenextdecadewill requiresomepostsecondaryeducation,trainingorcertification.
28
KeYFINDINgSINeDUCATION
53
of3-and4-year-olds
2 IN 3 4TH gRADERS
morethantwo-thirds(68percent)of fourthgradersinpublicschoolwerenot readingproficientlyin2011,aslight improvementfrom2005whenthe figurewas70percent.
morethanhalf(53percent)ofthree- andfour-year-oldswerenotenrolled inpreschoolin200810.
81%
massachusetts
49%
mississippi
49 81
OF 8TH gRADERS
1IN 4 HIgH SCHOOl STUDENTS

Althoughtherateisimprovingnationally,one outoffour(24percent)highschoolstudents didnotgraduateontimein2008/09.
Therateofeighthgradersnotproficient inmathrangesfromalowof49percent inmassachusettstoahighof81percent inmississippi.
29
eDUCATION
eDUCATION
Childrennotattending preschool
Fourthgradersnot proficientinreading
Children who reach fourth grade without being able to read proficiently are more likely to drop out of high school, reducing their earning potential and chances for success.
PerCeNTOFFOUrTHgrADerSNOTPrOFICIeNT INreADINgBYrACeANDHISPANICOrIgIN:2011
National Average African American American Indian Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic Non-Hispanic White
High-quality prekindergarten programs for three- and four-year-olds can improve school readiness, with the greatest gains accruing to the highest-risk children. Head Start and the expansion of statefunded programs since the 1990s have greatly increased access to preschool.16 But many children, especially three-yearolds, continue to be left out, exacerbating socioeconomic differences in educational achievement. Because of small sample sizes in some states, we used data collected over a three-year period for this measure.
From2008to2010,morethan4.2million three-andfour-year-oldswerenotenrolled inpreschool,representingmorethanhalf (53percent)ofallchildreninthatagegroup. Thisisaslightimprovementover200507, whennearly4.7millionchildren(56percent) didnotparticipateinapre-Kprogram. NewJerseyandConnecticut,at36percent and38percent,respectively,hadthelowest percentagesofthree-andfour-year-oldsnot enrolledinpreschool.Thestateswiththe highestpercentagesofchildrennotenrolled in200810wereNevada(71percent),Arizona (68percent)andNorthDakota(67percent). HalfofAfrican-Americanandwhitethree- andfour-year-oldswerenotinpre-Kprograms; thepercentagewasnearlythesameforAsian andPacificIslanderchildren(48percent). Therateswerenoticeablyhigherforlatinos (63percent)andAmericanIndians(59percent).
Proficiency in reading by the end of third grade is a crucial marker in a childs educational development. In the early years, learning to read is a critical component of childrens education. But beginning in the fourth grade, children use reading to learn other subjects, and therefore, mastery of reading becomes a critical component in their ability to keep up academically. Children who reach fourth grade without being able to read proficiently are more likely to drop out of high school, reducing their earning potential and chances for success.17
Astunning68percentoffourthgradersin publicschoolwerereadingbelowproficientlevels in2011,aslightimprovementfrom2005,when thefigurewas70percent. Statedifferencesinfourthgradereading levelsamongpublicschoolstudentsarewide. In2011,massachusettshadthelowestpercentage ofpublicschoolfourthgradersnotproficient inreading,50percent,comparedtoahighof 79percentinNewmexico. morethan80percentofAfrican-American, AmericanIndianandlatinofourthgraderswere notproficientinreading,comparedto58percent ofnon-Hispanicwhites.
68 51% 58%
84% 81% 82%
SOUrCeU.S.Departmentofeducation,NationalCenterfor educationStatistics,2011NationalAssessmentofeducationalProgress. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansand PacificIslandersdoNOTincludethosewhoareHispanic.
30
eDUCATION
eDUCATION
eighthgradersnot proficientinmath
Highschoolstudents notgraduatingontime
Competence in mathematics is essential for success in the workplace, which increasingly requires higher-level technical skills. The influence of high school students math proficiency on later earnings has grown steadily over time. Students who take advanced math and science courses that require a strong mastery of math fundamentals are more likely to attend and to complete college.18 But even for young people who do not attend college, basic math skills improve employability.
Amongpublicschoolstudents,math proficiencylevelsineighthgradeandreading proficiencylevelsinfourthgradewerequite similarin2011,buttherewasgreaterimprovement ineighthgrademathachievement.Nationwide, two-thirds(66percent)ofpublicschooleighth gradersscoredbelowproficientmathlevelsin 2011,comparedto72percentin2005. At49percent,massachusettshadthelowest percentageofpublicschooleighthgraders notproficientinmathin2011.Thestatewith thehighestrate,81percent,wasmississippi. racialandethnicdisparitiesinmath proficienciesarewide:57percentofnonHispanicwhiteeighthgraderswerebelow proficient,comparedto80percentoflatinos, 83percentofAmericanIndiansand87percent ofAfricanAmericans.
Students who graduate from high school on time are more likely to continue to postsecondary education and training; they have higher earnings and are more employable than students who fail to graduate.19 In 2010, median annual earnings for someone without a high school diploma ($18,400) were 70 percent of those of a high school graduate ($26,300) and 39 percent of the median earnings of someone with a bachelors degree ($47,400).20 High school graduates have better health outcomes, make healthier choices and are less likely to engage in risky behavior.21
Nationally,forthe2008/09schoolyear, roughly985,000highschoolstudents(24 percent)didnotgraduateontime.However,this isanimprovementofthreepercentagepoints from2005/06when27percentdidnotgraduate infouryears. Amongthestates,thepercentageofhigh schoolstudentsnotgraduatingfromhighschool infouryearsrangedfromalowof9percent inwisconsintoahighof44percentinNevada for2008/09. In2008/09,18percentofnon-Hispanic whitestudentsdidnotgraduatefromhigh schoolontime.TherateforAfricanAmericans wastwiceashigh.
Students who don't take advanced math and science courses that require a strong mastery of math fundamentals are less likely to attend and to complete college.
PerCeNTOFeIgHTHgrADerSNOTPrOFICIeNT INmATHBYrACeANDHISPANICOrIgIN:2011
66% 45% 57% 87% 83% 80%
SOUrCeU.S.Departmentofeducation,NationalCenterforeducation Statistics,2011NationalAssessmentofeducationalProgress. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansand PacificIslandersdoNOTincludethosewhoareHispanic.
31
Health Domain Rank

vermont massachusetts maine washington NewJersey Connecticut minnesota Pennsylvania Iowa NewHampshire maryland Nebraska Utah Illinois NewYork Tennessee virginia wisconsin rhodeIsland Oregon Hawaii michigan California Ohio Kentucky NorthCarolina NorthDakota Idaho Delaware georgia westvirginia Kansas missouri Indiana Alaska Arizona Arkansas Florida louisiana SouthCarolina Alabama Texas SouthDakota Oklahoma Colorado Nevada wyoming 48 mississippi 49 Newmexico 50 montana
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
HeAlTH
Childrenshealthisthefoundationoftheiroveralldevelopment, andensuringthattheyarebornhealthyisthefirststeptoward increasingthelifechancesofdisadvantagedchildren.Poverty,poor nutrition,lackofpreventivehealthcare,substanceabuse,maternal depressionandfamilyviolenceputchildrenshealthatrisk.Poor healthinchildhoodimpactsothercriticalaspectsofachild'slife, suchasschoolreadinessandattendance,andcanhavelasting consequencesontheirfuturehealthandwell-being.
32
KeYFINDINgSINHeAlTH
8.2
OF BIRTHS
1IN12 CHIlDREN
Acrossthenation,5.9millionchildren (8percent)lackedhealthinsurancein2010. Thatsa20percentimprovementfrom2008.
Afterincreasingfordecades,thepercent oflow-birthweightbabieshasremained stableforthepastseveralyearsat 8.2percentofalllivebirths.
-16 27PER100,000CHIlDREN
Between2005and2009,thechildand teendeathratedeclinedby16percentfrom 32to27per100,000youthages1to19.
mORE THAN
1 IN 14 TEENS
Nationally,7percentofteensages 12to17abusedorweredependent onalcoholordrugsin200809.
33
HeAlTH
HeAlTH
low-birthweightbabies
Childrenwithout healthinsurance
In 16 states, the percentage of children lacking health coverage was 5 percent or less in 2010. massachusetts and vermont had the lowest rate, 2 percent, compared to a high of 17 percent in Nevada.
PerCeNTOFCHIlDreNwITHOUT HeAlTHINSUrANCe:2010
The birth of a baby reminds us of the potential that exists in every new generation. Yet, some newborns face stiffer odds than other babies to thrive. Babies who are born with a low birthweight (less than about 5.5 pounds) have a high probability of experiencing developmental problems and short- and long-term disabilities and are at greater risk of dying within the first year of life. Although recent increases in multiple births have strongly influenced the rise in rates of low-birthweight babies, rates have also been higher among singleton deliveries. Smoking, poor nutrition, poverty, stress, infections and violence can increase the risk of a baby being born with a low birthweight.22
Nationally,low-birthweightbabies represented8.2percentofalllivebirthsin 2009,unchangedfrom2005.Aftergradually increasingovertime,thepercentoflowbirthweightbabieshasremainedrelatively stableforthepastseveralyears,slightly belowthethree-decadehighreachedin 2006of8.3percent.23 SouthDakotahadthelowestpercentage oflow-birthweightbabiesin2009,5.8percent oflivebirths,whilemississippihadthehighest, 12.2percent. Amongracialandethnicgroups,AfricanAmericanbabiesarethemostlikelytobeborn withalowbirthweight,atarateof13.3percent oflivebirthsin2009.Althoughthisrepresents aslightdeclinefromahighof13.6in2007, itisstillclosetotwicethelow-birthweight ratefornon-Hispanicwhites.
Children without health insurance coverage are less likely than insured children to have a regular health care provider and to receive care when they need it. They are also more likely to receive treatment after their condition has worsened, putting them at greater risk for hospitalization. Having health insurance can protect families from financial devastation when their child experiences a serious or chronic illness. Although the provision of employer-sponsored health insurance is declining and most low-wage and part-time workers lack employer coverage, public health insurance has resulted in a modest increase in health coverage among children over the last decade.
Acrossthenation,8percentofchildren (5.9million)lackedhealthinsurancein2010. Thatsa20percentimprovementfrom2008 when10percentofchildrenwereuninsured. In16states,thepercentofchildrenlacking healthcoveragewas5percentorlessin2010. massachusettsandvermonthadthelowest rate,2percent,comparedtoahighof17percent inNevadaand14percentinTexas. AmericanIndian(18percent)andlatino children(14percent)arefarmorelikelytobe uninsuredthannon-Hispanicwhite(6percent), African-American(7percent)andAsianand PacificIslander(8percent)children.
vermont Nevada
17%
2%
massachusetts
34
HeAlTH
HeAlTH
Childandteendeaths
Teenswhoabuse alcoholordrugs
The child and teen death rate (deaths per 100,000 children ages 1 to 19) reflects a broad array of factors: physical and mental health, access to health care, community factors (such as violence and environmental toxins), use of safety practices and, especially for younger children, the level of adult supervision. Accidents, primarily motor vehicle accidents, are the leading cause of death among children and youth, accounting for 31 percent of all deaths among children ages 1 to 14 and 42 percent of all deaths among teens ages 15 to 19 in 2009.24 As children move into their middle and late teenage years, they encounter new risks that can be deadly. In 2009, accidents, homicides and suicides accounted for nearly 73 percent of deaths to teens ages 15 to 19. Death rates for children of all age groups have declined considerably in recent decades.
morethan21,600childrenandyouthages 1to19diedin2009intheUnitedStates,which translatesintoamortalityrateof27per100,000 childrenandteens.Theratedeclinedfrom2005, whenitwas32per100,000,resultinginroughly 3,400fewerchildandteendeathsin2009 comparedtofouryearsprior.
Teen alcohol and drug abuse are associated with a variety of potentially harmful behaviors, such as engaging in risky sexual activity, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, abusing multiple substances and committing crimes. Alcohol and drug abuse among adolescents can cause both shortand long-term physical and mental health problems and exacerbate existing conditions. Teen substance abuse is also associated with poor academic performance and increased risk for dropping out of school. The negative consequences of teen alcohol and drug abuse can carry into adulthood. Overall, alcohol and drug use by adolescents has declined over the past decade, although patterns vary by substance.
In200809,7percentofteensages12to17 hadabusedorweredependentonalcohol ordrugsduringthepastyear,decliningfrom 8percentin200506. ratesofsubstanceabuseamongteensat thestatelevelvariedfromalowof5percentin Tennesseein200809to11percentinmontana.
INFANTmOrTAlITY,CHIlDDeATHS ANDTeeNDeATHS:2009
6.4 18 53
PER
1,000
live births
Infantmortalityrate PER
100,000 100,000
childreN
Deathrateforchildrenages1to14 PER teeNs
Deathrateforteensages15to19
SOUrCeU.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,National CenterforHealthStatistics,2009vitalStatistics. NOTeState-leveldatafortheseindicatorsareavailableat datacenter.kidscount.org.
Amongracialandethnicgroups,AfricanAmericanandAsianteenswereleastlikely Considerablevariationinthechildand (4percent)toabuseorbedependenton teenmortalityrateexistsamongthestates. massachusettshadthelowestrate,17deathsper alcoholordrugs. 100,000childrenandyouthin2009.mississippi andwyomingfellattheotherendofthespectrum, withachildandteendeathrateof47per100,000. AmericanIndianandAfrican-American childrenandteenshavemortalityrates(41and 39per100,000,respectively)thatarefarhigher thanthenationalaverage.
35
Family and Community Domain Rank

NewHampshire vermont Utah NorthDakota minnesota wyoming maine Iowa NewJersey massachusetts Idaho Connecticut montana Hawaii Nebraska virginia washington wisconsin maryland Alaska SouthDakota Oregon Pennsylvania Kansas Colorado Delaware missouri Illinois michigan rhodeIsland Indiana Ohio westvirginia NewYork Florida NorthCarolina georgia Kentucky Tennessee Oklahoma Nevada California SouthCarolina Alabama Arkansas Arizona Texas 48 louisiana 49 Newmexico 50 mississippi
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47
FAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
whenchildrenarenurturedandwellcaredfor,especiallyduring theirearlyyears,theyhavebettersocial-emotional,languageand learningoutcomes.These,inturn,leadtomorepositivebehavior andacademicachievementinlateryears.Butsingleparents, especiallythosestrugglingwithfinancialhardship,aremore pronetostress,anxietyanddepression,whichcaninterfere witheffectiveparenting.Thesefindingsunderscorethe importanceoftwo-generationstrategiesthatstrengthenfamilies bymitigatingafamilysunderlyingeconomicdistressand addressingthewell-beingofbothparentsandchildren.Families existinandareaffectedbyneighborhoodsandcommunities. whencommunitieshavestrongsocialandculturalinstitutions; goodrolemodelsforchildren;andtheresourcestoprovidesafety, goodschoolsandqualitysupportservices,familiesandtheir childrenaremorelikelytothrive.
36
KeYFINDINgSINFAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
19%
Utah
46%
mississippi
19 46
OF CHIlDREN
15
OF CHIlDREN
Therateofchildrenlivinginsingle-parent familiesvariesdramaticallyacrossthestates, fromalowof19percentinUtahtoahigh of46percentinmississippi.
In2010,15percentofchildrenlivedin householdsheadedbyanadultwithouta highschooldiploma,adeclinesince2005.
1.6 mIllION CHIlDREN
39 BIRTHS PER 1,000 TEENS

In2009,therateofbirthstoteens reachedahistoriclowof39birthsper 1,000femalesages15to19.
Anestimated11percentofchildrenlived inhigh-povertyareasnationwideduring 200610.Thisrepresentsanincreaseof 1.6millionchildrensince2000,when theratewas9percent.
37
FAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
FAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
Childreninsingle-parent families
Childreninfamilieswhere thehouseholdheadlacks ahighschooldiploma
Nationally, about 24.3 million children lived in single-parent families in 2010. Of these children, 4.8 million lived in cohabiting couple families.
CHIlDreNBYHOUSeHOlD lIvINgArrANgemeNT:2010
24.3 Million
lIvED IN SINglEPARENT FAmIlIES
Children growing up in single-parent families typically do not have the same economic or human resources available as those growing up in two-parent families. In 2010, 36 percent of single-parent families had incomes below the poverty line, compared to 8 percent of married-couple families with children. Only about 31 percent of femaleheaded families reported receiving any child support payments in 2009. Compared with children in married-couple families, children raised in female-headed households are more likely to drop out of school, to have or cause a teen pregnancy and to experience a divorce in adulthood.25 The U.S. Census Bureau defines single-parent families as those families headed by an unmarried adult. A child living with cohabiting parents is counted as living in a single-parent family.
Thepercentageofchildrenlivinginsingleparentfamiliesincreasedfrom32percentin 2005to34percentin2010,representingan increaseof2.6millionchildren. Atthestatelevel,thepercentageofchildren livinginsingle-parentfamiliesin2010ranged fromalowof19percentinUtahtoahighof46 percentinmississippi.Thisisoneofthelarger rangesinstatevariationamongtheindicators. Two-thirds(66percent)ofAfrican-American childrenlivedinsingle-parentfamiliesin2010, comparedtojustoverhalfofAmericanIndian children(52percent)andtwooutoffive (41percent)latinochildren.Bycomparison,a fourth(24percent)ofnon-Hispanicwhiteand one-sixth(16percent)ofAsianandPacific Islanderchildrenlivedinsingle-parenthouseholds.
Higher levels of parental education are strongly associated with better outcomes for children. Children whose parents have not graduated from high school are at greater risk for being born with a low birthweight and having health problems, and they are more likely to smoke and binge drink when they are older. Their school readiness and educational achievement are also at risk.26 More highly educated parents are better able to provide their children with economic stability and security, which, in turn, enhances child development. Over the past several decades, parental education levels have steadily increased.
In2010,15percentofchildrenlivedin householdsheadedbyanadultwithoutahigh schooldiploma.Thisrepresents11.3million childrencomparedto12millionin2005,which isa6percentdecline. InNorthDakotaandvermont,only4percent ofchildrenlivedinfamiliesnotheadedbyahigh schoolgraduatein2010,thelowestpercentage inthecountry.At26percent,Californiahadthe highestrateofchildrenlivingwithoutahighschool-educatedheadofhousehold. About37percentoflatinochildrenlivedin householdsheadedbysomeonewithoutahigh schooldiploma.Thatstwoandahalftimesthe rateforAfrican-Americanchildren(15percent) andmorethanfivetimestheratefornon-Hispanic whitechildren(7percent).
46.3 Million
4.8 mIllION lIvED IN COHABITINg COUPlE FAmIlIES lIvED IN mARRIEDCOUPlE FAmIlIES
3.6 Million
74.2 Million
lIvED IN OTHER lIvINg ARRANgEmENTS TOTAl CHIlD POPUlATION
38
FAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
FAmIlYANDCOmmUNITY
Childrenlivingin high-povertyareas
Teenbirths
Concentrated poverty puts whole neighborhoods and people living there at risk. High-poverty neighborhoods are much more likely than other neighborhoods to have high rates of crime and violence, physical and mental health problems, unemployment and other problems. Concentrated neighborhood poverty negatively affects poor children as well as those who are better off.27 Highpoverty areas are defined here as those census tracts where the poverty rates of the total population are 30 percent or more.
Teenage childbearing can have long-term negative effects for both the mother and newborn. Babies born to teen mothers are at higher risk of being low-birthweight and preterm. They are also far more likely to be born into families with limited educational and economic resources, which function as barriers to future success.28 In 2006, the United States saw the first increase in the teen birth rate in more than a decade, a rise that continued through 2007. But after the two-year increase, the teen birth rate declined in Duringtheperiodfrom2006to2010,11percent 2008 and 2009 to a historic low.
African-American, American Indian and latino children were much more likely to live in high-poverty areas than children of other racial and ethnic groups.
PerCeNTOFCHIlDreNlIvINgINHIgH-POverTY AreASBYrACeANDHISPANICOrIgIN:200610
ofchildrenlivedinhigh-povertyareasnationwide, foratotalof7.9million.Thisrepresentsan In2009,therewerenearly410,000babies increaseof1.6millionchildrensince2000,when borntofemalesages15to19.Thattranslatesinto theratewas9percent. abirthrateof39birthsper1,000teens,which representsaslightdecreasefrom2005when variationamongthestatesiswide:Fewerthan theratewas40birthsper1,000teens. halfofonepercentofchildreninwyominglivedin areasofconcentratedpoverty,whereas23percent Amongthestates,theteenbirthratefor2009 ofchildrenlivedinhigh-povertyareasinmississippi. rangedfromalowof16birthsper1,000teens Theratewas20percentinNewmexico. ages15to19inNewHampshiretoahighof 64per1,000inmississippiandNewmexico. African-American,AmericanIndianandlatino childrenweremuchmorelikelytoliveinhigh-poverty At70birthsper1,000teenagegirls,theteen areasthanchildrenofotherracialandethnic birthrateforlatinoswasthehighestacross groups.Therateswere27percent,24percent majorracialandethnicgroups.Althoughit and19percent,respectively. remainedhigh,the2009rateforbirthstolatino teenswasthelowestrateonrecord.29
11% 27% 24% 6% 19% 3%
SOUrCeU.S.CensusBureau,200610AmericanCommunitySurvey. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansand PacificIslandersalsoincludethosewhoareHispanic.
39
CONClUSION
Overthepastfewdecades,wehavemadetremendousprogress insomeareasofchildwell-beingandreducedsomeofthemost egregiousdisparitiesassociatedwithdifferencesinincomeand wealth,andraceandethnicity.AsthefindingsinthisyearsKIDS COUNTDataBookreveal,someaspectsofchildwell-being,suchas educationandhealth,continuedtoshowsomeimprovement,despite theworsteconomiccatastrophesincethegreatDepression.
At the same time, some hard-won gains are slipping away. We are particularly concerned about the severe declines in economic wellbeing for families and their children caused by the recession. While the economy is slowly improving, change cant come soon enough for the children whose exposure to economic hardship has deepened or been prolonged. As we know, such conditions can have lasting consequences that reduce the chances of future success.
If we want to ensure that the next generation is prepared to effectively compete in a global economy that is increasingly technology driven and dependent on a well-educated workforce, then we must act. With the right investments, we can provide all families and children with the opportunity to reach their full potential and, in the process, strengthen our economy and our nation.
41
eNDNOTeS
1. Ravitch, D. (June 7, 2012). Do our public schools threaten national security? New York Review of Books. www. nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/ jun/07/do-our-public-schools-threatennational-security/?page=1#fn-* 2. Reardon, S. F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. In R. Murnane & G. Duncan (Eds.), Whither opportunity? Rising inequality and the uncertain life chances of lowincome children. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation Press.
8. Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center. http:// datacenter.kidscount.org/data/ acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=44 9. OHare, W., & Gutierrez, F. (2012). Comprehensive assessment of child well-being indices: The state of the art. Working paper, Annie E. Casey Foundation. 10. Yeung, W. J., Linver, M. R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2002). How money matters for childrens development: Parental investment and family processes. Child Development, 73(6), pp. 18611879.
15. Reardon, S. F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New evidence and possible explanations. In R. Murnane & G. Duncan (Eds.), Whither opportunity? Rising inequality and the uncertain life chances of low-income children. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation Press. 16. Higgins, L. B., Stagman, S., & Smith, S. (2010). Improving supports for parents of young children: State-level initiatives. New York, NY: National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University. http://nccp.org/ publications/pdf/text_966.pdf. Gormley, W., Jr., Gayer, T., Phillips, D., & Dawson, B. (2004). The effects of Oklahomas universal pre-kindergarten program on school readiness. Washington, DC: Center for the Research on Children in the U.S., Georgetown University. www.crocus. georgetown.edu/reports/executive_ summary_11_04.pdf 17. Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2010). Early warning! Why reading by the end of third grade matters (KIDS COUNT Special Report). Baltimore, MD: Author. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/ reports/readingmatters.aspx 18. Child Trends Data Bank. (January 2012). Mathematics proficiency. www.childtrendsdatabank. org/?q=node/256 19. Alliance for Excellent Education. (2011). The high cost of high school dropouts: What the nation pays for inadequate high schools. Washington, DC: Author. www.all4ed.org/files/ HighCost.pdf 20. Population Reference Bureaus analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, summary table S2001, data accessed at http:// factfinder2.census.gov (June 11, 2012).
21. Alliance for Excellent Education. (2006). Healthier and wealthier: Decreasing health care costs by increasing educational attainment. Washington, DC: Author. www.all4ed.org/files/ HandW.pdf 22. Shore, R., & Shore, B. (2009). Preventing low birthweight (KIDS COUNT Indicator Brief). Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation. www.aecf.org/ KnowledgeCenter/PublicationsSeries/ KCIndicatorBriefs.aspx 23. Population Reference Bureaus analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. 24. Population Reference Bureaus analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Mortality Data File 2009. http:// webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/ mortrate10_us.html 25. Amato, P. R. (2005). The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation, The Future of Children, 15(2), pp. 7596. 26. Child Trends Data Bank. (April 2012). Parental education. www. childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/183 27. Annie E. Casey Foundation. (February 2012). Children living in high-poverty communities (KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot). Baltimore, MD: Author. www.aecf.org/ KnowledgeCenter/Publications. aspx?pubguid={DF6A3A0E-9AA3405E-9FB9-E1D9C80C5E5C} 28. Child Trends Data Bank. (March 2012). Teen births. www. childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/52 29. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Births: Final data for 2009. National Vital Statistics Reports, 60(1). Washington, DC. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/ nvsr60_01.pdf
11. For a summary of this literature, see Gershoff, E. T., Aber, J. L., & Rav3. Centers for Disease Control and Pre- er, C. C. (2003). Child poverty in the vention. (June 2012). Childhood obesity U.S.: An evidence-based conceptual framework for programs and policies. facts. www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/ In Lerner, R., Jacobs, F., & Wertlieb, obesity/facts.htm D. (Eds.), Promoting positive child, 4. Weller, C. E., Fields, J., & Agbede, F. adolescent, and family development: (January 2011). The state of communities A handbook of program and policy of color in the U.S. economy: A snapshot innovations. Thousand Oaks, CA: as we enter 2011. Washington, DC: Sage Publications. Center for American Progress. www. 12. Gershoff, E. T., Aber, J. L., & americanprogress.org/issues/2011/01/ Raver, C. C. (2003). Child poverty pdf/comm_of_color.pdf in the U.S.: An evidence-based con5. McNichol, E., Oliff, P., & Johnson, ceptual framework for programs and N. (May 24, 2012). States continue to policies. In Lerner, R., Jacobs, F., & feel recessions impact. Washington, DC: Wertlieb, D. (Eds.), Promoting positive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. child, adolescent, and family developwww.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa= ment: A handbook of program and view&id=711 policy innovations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 6. Schraad-Tishcler, D. (2011). Social justice in the OECD: How do the 13. Bernstein, J., Brocht, C., & member states compare? Germany: Spade-Aguilar, M. (2000). How Bertelscmann Stifung. www.sgimuch is enough? Basic family budgets network.org/pdf/SGI11_Social_ for working families. Washington, Justice_OECD.pdf DC: Economic Policy Institute. www.epi.org/publications/entry/ 7. Annie E. Casey Foundation. books_howmuch/ (February 2012). Children living in high-poverty communities (KIDS 14. Sherman, A. (November 2011). COUNT Data Snapshot). Baltimore, Poverty and financial distress would have MD: Author. www.aecf.org/ been substantially worse in 2010 without KnowledgeCenter/Publications. government action, new census data aspx?pubguid={DF6A3A0E-9AA3show. Washington, DC: Center for 405E-9FB9-E1D9C80C5E5C} Public Policy Priorities. www.cbpp.org/ files/11-7-11pov.pdf
42
KIDSCOUNTDATACeNTer
TheKIDSCOUNTDataCenterprovideseasyonlineaccessto hundredsofchildwell-beingindicatorsintheareasofeducation, employmentandincome,health,povertyandyouthrisk factors.Dataareavailableforthenationandforstates,as wellasformanycities,countiesandschooldistricts.The DataCenteroffersmultipletoolstocustomizeandshare information.ranking,mappingandgraphingtoolsallow customizationofdatathatcanbesharedandupdatedthrough socialmediaandotherweb-basedapplications. datacenter.kidscount.org
mobile Site
Allindicatorscurrentlyfound ontheKIDSCOUNTData Centercanbeaccessedquickly andeasilyanytime,anywhere onyourmobiledeviceat: mobile.kidscount.org
Profile Pages Online

NationalandStateprofilepages previouslyavailableintheData Bookarenowaccessibleonlineat: datacenter.kidscount.org/ databook/2012/profiles
43
APPeNDICeS
APPeNDIx1
Child Well-Being Rankings
Overall Rank
State
Economic Well-Being Rank

42 22 46 39 45 16 10 23 n.r. 44 43 31 26 27 24 3 8 37 47 18 14 11 36 7 50 21 20 2 49 6 19 48 32 35 1 30 29 41 17 n.r. 25 34 4 38 33 13 12 9 28 40 15 5
Education Rank
44 41 46 34 43 9 5 22 n.r. 35 38 31 30 17 36 14 12 28 45 23 6 1 33 7 48 24 13 15 50 4 2 49 19 25 16 18 39 37 8 n.r. 20 40 21 42 32 27 3 11 26 47 10 29
Health Rank
41 35 36 37 23 45 6 29 n.r. 38 30 21 28 14 34 9 32 25 39 3 11 2 22 7 48 33 50 12 46 10 5 49 15 26 27 24 44 20 8 n.r. 19 40 43 16 42 13 1 17 4 31 18 47
Family and Community Rank

44 20 46 45 42 25 12 26 n.r. 35 37 14 11 28 31 8 24 38 48 7 19 10 29 5 50 27 13 15 41 1 9 49 34 36 4 32 40 22 23 n.r. 30 43 21 39 47 3 2 16 17 33 18 6
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota mississippi missouri montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New mexico New york North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah vermont virginia Washington West virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
N.r.Notranked.
45 30 46 42 41 22 7 23 n.r. 38 37 24 20 21 31 8 16 35 47 13 10 2 32 5 50 26 28 9 48 1 4 49 29 34 6 27 40 33 14 n.r. 25 43 17 36 44 11 3 12 18 39 15 19
45
APPeNDIx2:DATAFOr16INDICATOrSOFCHIlDwell-BeINg
ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg INDICATORS
Children in poverty: 2010

State Number Percent
Children whose parents lack secure employment: 2010

Number Percent
Children living in households with a high housing cost burden: 2010

Number Percent
Teens not in school and not working: 2010

Number Percent
United States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota mississippi missouri montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New mexico New york North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah vermont virginia Washington West virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
15,749,000 311,000 24,000 392,000 193,000 2,013,000 211,000 103,000 37,000 31,000 924,000 611,000 41,000 80,000 600,000 342,000 115,000 131,000 263,000 300,000 48,000 173,000 201,000 539,000 192,000 242,000 291,000 44,000 82,000 144,000 28,000 295,000 154,000 901,000 560,000 24,000 624,000 227,000 184,000 522,000 500,000 42,000 278,000 36,000 377,000 1,751,000 136,000 21,000 265,000 284,000 96,000 250,000 19,000
22 28 13 24 28 22 17 13 18 30 23 25 14 19 19 22 16 18 26 27 18 13 14 23 15 33 21 20 18 22 10 14 30 21 25 16 23 25 22 19 56 19 26 18 26 26 16 17 14 18 25 19 14
24,159,000 422,000 65,000 570,000 253,000 3,345,000 356,000 228,000 60,000 44,000 1,377,000 839,000 91,000 134,000 986,000 536,000 182,000 199,000 375,000 404,000 92,000 357,000 424,000 855,000 352,000 292,000 436,000 70,000 112,000 239,000 70,000 567,000 190,000 1,358,000 793,000 33,000 918,000 301,000 315,000 854,000 487,000 76,000 397,000 46,000 556,000 2,169,000 212,000 41,000 480,000 507,000 144,000 402,000 32,000
33 37 35 35 36 36 29 28 29 44 34 34 30 31 32 33 25 27 37 36 34 26 30 37 27 39 31 31 24 36 25 27 37 31 35 22 34 32 36 31 54 34 37 23 37 31 24 31 26 32 37 30 23
30,107,000 401,000 58,000 700,000 229,000 5,016,000 481,000 348,000 82,000 43,000 1,961,000 1,034,000 141,000 153,000 1,313,000 513,000 193,000 217,000 327,000 358,000 91,000 566,000 556,000 906,000 435,000 263,000 463,000 67,000 127,000 311,000 111,000 994,000 170,000 1,957,000 859,000 28,000 969,000 296,000 393,000 981,000 288,000 101,000 382,000 45,000 550,000 2,560,000 327,000 50,000 689,000 674,000 104,000 478,000 34,000
41 35 31 43 32 54 39 43 40 42 49 41 46 36 42 32 27 30 32 32 33 42 39 39 34 35 33 30 28 47 39 48 33 45 38 19 36 32 45 35 32 45 35 22 37 37 37 39 37 43 27 36 25
1,580,000 30,000 5,000 45,000 21,000 192,000 20,000 11,000 5,000 3,000 103,000 70,000 8,000 10,000 59,000 31,000 11,000 10,000 27,000 37,000 5,000 28,000 20,000 54,000 14,000 23,000 30,000 5,000 4,000 22,000 4,000 36,000 15,000 94,000 52,000 2,000 53,000 19,000 20,000 53,000 42,000 3,000 24,000 4,000 35,000 144,000 17,000 1,000 34,000 30,000 14,000 21,000 3,000
9 11 11 12 12 8 7 5 9 9 10 12 12 11 8 8 6 6 11 14 7 8 5 9 5 13 9 9 4 15 6 8 12 8 10 5 8 9 10 7 18 5 9 8 10 9 9 4 7 8 14 7 9
46
EDUCATION INDICATORS
Children not attending preschool: 200810

Fourth graders not proficient in reading: 2011

Number Percent
Eighth graders not proficient in math: 2011

Number Percent
High school students not graduating on time: 2008/09

Number Percent
N.A.NotAvailable.
4,234,000 70,000 12,000 123,000 40,000 518,000 71,000 32,000 11,000 4,000 217,000 138,000 15,000 30,000 153,000 107,000 42,000 42,000 64,000 57,000 17,000 71,000 59,000 129,000 79,000 40,000 90,000 14,000 27,000 54,000 15,000 78,000 34,000 193,000 139,000 11,000 160,000 59,000 54,000 147,000 43,000 12,000 61,000 14,000 93,000 445,000 59,000 7,000 105,000 101,000 27,000 80,000 10,000
53 57 63 68 51 52 52 38 50 34 51 51 46 63 46 61 52 53 56 47 58 49 41 54 55 50 57 59 53 71 49 36 62 44 56 67 54 58 58 51 48 51 54 60 59 59 59 52 52 60 65 59 60
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
68 69 74 74 70 75 61 58 64 81 65 68 73 67 67 67 67 64 65 77 68 57 50 69 65 78 66 64 64 75 57 56 79 65 66 64 66 73 70 59 n.a. 65 72 69 74 72 67 59 61 66 73 66 66
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
66 80 65 69 71 75 57 62 68 83 72 72 70 63 67 66 66 59 69 78 61 60 49 69 52 81 68 54 67 71 56 53 76 70 63 57 61 73 67 61 n.a. 66 68 58 76 60 65 54 60 60 79 59 63
985,330 18,087 3,026 23,610 9,855 151,963 13,703 11,406 2,795 2,118 69,117 41,794 3,784 4,043 37,691 20,986 5,645 7,479 12,058 17,332 3,242 14,455 13,128 36,898 8,600 15,031 12,832 2,214 4,021 15,432 2,753 16,326 9,744 65,065 28,775 1,038 31,325 10,924 10,806 31,585 14,308 3,285 20,160 1,820 17,612 86,093 7,903 839 21,956 22,359 5,293 6,679 1,814
24 30 27 27 26 29 22 25 26 38 31 32 25 19 22 25 14 20 22 33 20 20 17 25 13 38 17 18 17 44 16 15 35 26 25 13 20 23 24 19 33 25 34 18 23 25 21 10 22 26 23 9 25
47
HEAlTH INDICATORS
Low-birthweight babies: 2009

Children without health insurance: 2010

Number Percent
Child and teen deaths per 100,000: 2009

Number rate
Teens who abuse alcohol or drugs: 200809

Number Percent
N.A.NotAvailable.
336,747 6,454 666 6,575 3,546 35,802 6,007 3,127 994 929 19,247 13,190 1,592 1,541 14,316 7,225 2,671 3,011 5,141 6,915 851 6,836 5,802 9,799 4,604 5,249 6,393 865 1,922 3,046 925 9,137 2,416 20,341 11,454 572 12,378 4,558 2,955 12,187 5,525 913 6,047 696 7,539 34,137 3,766 411 8,779 5,580 1,952 5,027 661
8.2 10.3 5.9 7.1 8.9 6.8 8.8 8.0 8.6 10.3 8.7 9.4 8.4 6.5 8.4 8.3 6.7 7.3 8.9 10.6 6.3 9.1 7.8 8.4 6.5 12.2 8.1 7.1 7.1 8.1 6.9 8.3 8.3 8.2 9.0 6.4 8.6 8.4 6.3 8.3 12.4 8.0 10.0 5.8 9.2 8.5 7.0 6.7 8.4 6.3 9.2 7.1 8.4
5,918,000 67,000 23,000 208,000 46,000 833,000 124,000 24,000 11,000 2,000 507,000 244,000 11,000 45,000 140,000 143,000 29,000 60,000 61,000 62,000 11,000 64,000 22,000 95,000 84,000 64,000 88,000 28,000 26,000 115,000 14,000 123,000 53,000 208,000 177,000 10,000 162,000 93,000 76,000 144,000 39,000 12,000 102,000 17,000 79,000 996,000 95,000 3,000 121,000 102,000 18,000 67,000 11,000
8 6 12 13 7 9 10 3 5 2 13 10 4 11 4 9 4 8 6 6 4 5 2 4 7 8 6 12 6 17 5 6 10 5 8 6 6 10 9 5 4 6 9 8 5 14 11 2 7 6 5 5 8
21,621 447 75 536 280 2,386 337 163 65 49 1,253 723 82 114 896 482 189 236 349 516 78 366 264 728 294 380 525 100 121 204 57 398 213 1,032 717 58 762 404 191 764 316 59 407 98 511 2,093 226 30 421 386 145 345 66
27 37 39 30 37 24 26 19 29 38 29 27 27 26 27 29 25 32 32 43 27 25 17 29 22 47 35 42 25 29 18 18 40 22 30 37 26 42 21 25 30 23 35 46 32 29 25 21 21 23 35 24 47
1,815,000 26,000 4,000 43,000 18,000 257,000 38,000 23,000 5,000 2,000 94,000 48,000 8,000 11,000 75,000 41,000 20,000 18,000 21,000 21,000 7,000 27,000 37,000 65,000 32,000 15,000 35,000 8,000 11,000 19,000 9,000 45,000 17,000 121,000 44,000 4,000 70,000 22,000 27,000 60,000 n.a. 7,000 22,000 6,000 26,000 153,000 15,000 4,000 44,000 38,000 9,000 39,000 4,000
7 7 7 8 8 8 10 8 8 5 7 6 8 8 7 8 8 8 6 6 7 6 7 8 8 6 7 11 8 9 9 6 10 8 6 8 7 8 9 6 n.a. 8 6 9 5 7 6 7 7 7 7 9 9
48
FAmIly AND COmmUNITy INDICATORS
Children in single-parent families: 2010

Children in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma: 2010
Number Percent
Children living in high-poverty areas: 200610

Number Percent
Teen births per 1,000: 2009

Number rate
24,297,000 429,000 57,000 569,000 254,000 2,945,000 356,000 249,000 73,000 57,000 1,484,000 888,000 85,000 105,000 989,000 530,000 200,000 214,000 338,000 472,000 90,000 457,000 425,000 763,000 345,000 326,000 457,000 61,000 125,000 229,000 75,000 579,000 207,000 1,446,000 792,000 37,000 925,000 307,000 262,000 902,000 475,000 80,000 423,000 57,000 524,000 2,337,000 164,000 38,000 574,000 444,000 117,000 403,000 34,000
34 40 32 37 39 33 30 32 37 60 39 38 30 25 33 35 29 31 35 45 34 36 31 34 28 46 34 29 28 36 27 29 42 35 37 25 36 35 32 34 56 37 42 29 37 36 19 30 32 29 33 31 26
11,338,000 182,000 19,000 310,000 111,000 2,374,000 161,000 81,000 24,000 19,000 555,000 371,000 25,000 51,000 426,000 205,000 63,000 84,000 143,000 194,000 16,000 137,000 128,000 234,000 100,000 125,000 164,000 17,000 52,000 145,000 16,000 204,000 105,000 673,000 324,000 7,000 286,000 129,000 134,000 285,000 198,000 31,000 154,000 16,000 191,000 1,595,000 78,000 5,000 202,000 197,000 47,000 135,000 10,000
15 16 10 19 16 26 13 10 12 19 14 15 8 12 14 13 9 12 14 17 6 10 9 10 8 17 12 8 11 22 6 10 20 16 14 4 11 14 15 10 22 14 14 8 13 23 9 4 11 12 12 10 7
7,879,000 151,000 5,000 253,000 98,000 1,049,000 92,000 62,000 9,000 33,000 341,000 264,000 12,000 13,000 304,000 135,000 27,000 46,000 132,000 193,000 8,000 43,000 100,000 341,000 68,000 177,000 123,000 14,000 27,000 41,000 5,000 128,000 100,000 674,000 212,000 11,000 324,000 98,000 42,000 299,000 786,000 22,000 133,000 22,000 197,000 1,120,000 27,000 1,000 76,000 87,000 33,000 107,000 1,000
11 13 3 16 14 11 8 7 4 32 8 11 4 3 10 8 4 6 13 17 3 3 7 14 5 23 9 6 6 6 2 6 20 15 9 7 12 11 5 11 83 10 12 11 13 17 3 1 4 6 8 8 0
409,802 8,205 1,106 10,874 5,753 47,831 6,203 2,605 1,081 1,034 22,021 16,345 1,547 2,038 16,196 9,527 3,421 4,233 7,208 8,413 1,047 6,140 4,482 11,709 4,384 6,945 8,499 1,264 2,209 3,879 765 6,408 4,438 16,306 14,093 663 15,445 7,451 4,063 12,850 7,992 1,051 7,651 1,092 10,378 52,656 3,349 393 8,228 6,866 2,845 5,798 814
39 51 45 51 59 37 38 21 35 48 39 48 41 36 36 43 32 44 51 53 24 31 20 33 24 64 42 39 35 47 16 23 64 24 45 28 39 60 33 29 55 27 49 38 51 61 31 17 31 32 50 29 45
49
Definitions and Data Sources
Domainrankforeachstatewasobtainedin thefollowingmanner.First,weconvertedthe statenumericalvaluesforthemostrecentyear foreachofthefourkeyindicatorswithineach domainintostandardscores.wesummedthose standardscoresineachdomaintogetatotal standardscoreforeachstate.Finally,weranked thestatesonthebasisoftheirtotalstandard scorebydomaininsequentialorderfromhighest/ best(1)tolowest/worst(50).Standardscores werederivedbysubtractingthemeanscorefrom theobservedscoreanddividingtheamountby thestandarddeviationforthatdistributionof scores.Allmeasuresweregiventhesameweight incalculatingthedomainstandardscore. Overallrankforeachstatewasobtainedin thefollowingmanner.First,weconvertedthe statenumericalvaluesforthemostrecentyear foreachofthe16keyindicatorsintostandard scores.wesummedthosestandardscores withintheirdomainstocreateadomainstandard scoreforeachofthe50states.wethensummed thefourdomainstandardscorestogetatotal standardscoreforeachstate.Finally,weranked thestatesonthebasisoftheirtotalstandard scoreinsequentialorderfromhighest/best (1)tolowest/worst(50).Standardscoreswere derivedbysubtractingthemeanscorefrom theobservedscoreanddividingtheamountby thestandarddeviationforthatdistributionof scores.Allmeasuresweregiventhesameweight incalculatingthetotalstandardscore. PercentChangeOverTimeAnalysiswascomputed bycomparingthemostrecentyear'sdatafor16 keyindicatorswiththedataforthebaseyear.To calculatepercentchange,wesubtractedtherate forthemostrecentyearfromtherateforthebase
yearandthendividedthatquantitybytheratefor thebaseyear.Theresultsaremultipliedby100for readability.Thepercentchangewascalculatedon roundeddata,andthepercentchangefigurehas beenroundedtothenearestwholenumber.
economicwell-BeingIndicators
Childreninpovertyisthepercentageofchildren underage18wholiveinfamilieswithincomes below100percentoftheU.S.povertythreshold,as issuedeachyearbytheU.S.CensusBureau.The federalpovertydefinitionconsistsofaseriesof thresholdsbasedonfamilysizeandcomposition andisupdatedeveryyeartoaccountforinflation. Incalendaryear2010,afamilyoftwoadultsand twochildrenfellinthepovertycategoryiftheir annualincomefellbelow$22,113.Povertystatus isnotdeterminedforpeoplelivingingroupquarters,suchasmilitarybarracks,prisonsandother institutionalquarters,orforunrelatedindividuals underage15(suchasfosterchildren).Thedata arebasedonincomereceivedinthe12months priortothesurvey.SOUrCe:U.S.CensusBureau, AmericanCommunitySurvey. Childrenwhoseparentslacksecureemployment istheshareofallchildrenunderage18livingin familieswherenoparenthasregular,full-time, year-roundemployment.Forchildrenlivingin single-parentfamilies,thismeansthattheresidentparentdidnotworkatleast35hoursper week,atleast50weeksinthe12monthspriorto thesurvey.Forchildrenlivinginmarried-couple families,thismeansthatneitherparentworked atleast35hoursperweek,atleast50weeksin the12monthspriortothesurvey.Childrenliving withneitherparentarealsolistedasnothaving secureparentalemploymentbecausethose
50
childrenarelikelytobeeconomicallyvulnerable. The2010estimateforthismeasureshould notbecomparedtoestimatespriorto2008 becauseofsubstantialchangesmadetothe 2008AmericanCommunitySurveyquestions onlaborforceparticipationandnumberof weeksworked.SOUrCe:U.S.CensusBureau, AmericanCommunitySurvey. Childrenlivinginhouseholdswithahigh housingcostburdenisthepercentofchildren underage18wholiveinhouseholdswheremore than30percentofmonthlyhouseholdpretax incomeisspentonhousing-relatedexpenses, includingrent,mortgagepayments,taxesand insurance.SOUrCe:U.S.CensusBureau,American CommunitySurvey. Teensnotinschoolandnotworkingisthe percentageofteenagersbetweenages16and19 whoarenotenrolledinschool(fullorparttime) andnotemployed(fullorparttime).ThismeasureissometimesreferredtoasIdleTeens orDisconnectedYouth.The2010estimate forthismeasureshouldnotbecomparedto estimatespriorto2008becauseofsubstantial changesmadetothe2008AmericanCommunity Surveyquestionsonlaborforceparticipation andnumberofweeksworked.SOUrCe:U.S.CensusBureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey.
AmericanCommunitySurveywasusedto increaseaccuracyoftheestimates.SOUrCe:U.S. CensusBureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey. Fourthgradersnotproficientinreading isthepercentageoffourthgradepublicschool studentswhodidnotreachtheproficientlevel inreadingasmeasuredbytheNationalAssessmentofeducationalProgress(NAeP).Public schoolsincludecharterschoolsandexclude BureauofIndianeducationschoolsandDepartmentofDefenseeducationActivityschools. SOUrCe:U.S.Departmentofeducation,National CenterforeducationStatistics,National AssessmentofeducationalProgress. eighthgradersnotproficientinmathisthe percentageofeighthgradepublicschoolstudentswhodidnotreachtheproficientlevelin mathasmeasuredbytheNationalAssessment ofeducationalProgress(NAeP).Publicschools includecharterschoolsandexcludeBureauof IndianeducationschoolsandDepartmentof DefenseeducationActivityschools.SOUrCe:U.S. Departmentofeducation,NationalCenterfor educationStatistics,NationalAssessmentof educationalProgress. Highschoolstudentsnotgraduatingontimeis theestimatedpercentageofanenteringfreshmanclassnotgraduatinginfouryears.The measureisderivedfromtheAveragedFreshman graduationrate(AFgr),whichusesaggregate studentenrollmentdatatoestimatethesize ofanincomingfreshmanclassandaggregate countsofthenumberofregulardiplomas awardedfouryearslater.SOUrCe:U.S.Department ofeducation,NationalCenterforeducation Statistics,CommonCoreofData(CCD).
educationIndicators
Childrennotattendingpreschoolisthepercentageofchildrenagesthreetofourwhowerenot enrolledinnurseryschoolorpreschoolduring theprevioustwomonths.Childrenenrolled inkindergartenareexcludedfromthisanalysis.Duetosmallsamplesize,thethree-year
51
HealthIndicators
low-birthweightbabiesisthepercentageof livebirthsweighinglessthan2,500grams(5.5 pounds).Thedatareflectthemother'splace ofresidence,nottheplacewherethebirth occurred.SOUrCe:CentersforDiseaseControl andPrevention,NationalCenterforHealth Statistics,vitalStatistics. Childrenwithouthealthinsuranceisthepercentageofchildrenunderage18notcovered byanyhealthinsurance.Thedataarebased onhealthinsurancecoverageatthetimeofthe survey;interviewsareconductedthroughout thecalendaryear.SOUrCe:U.S.CensusBureau, AmericanCommunitySurvey. Childandteendeathsisthenumberofdeaths,from allcauses,tochildrenbetweenages1and19per 100,000childreninthisagerange.Thedataare reportedbytheplaceofresidence,nottheplace wherethedeathoccurred.SOUrCeS:Death Statistics:CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention, NationalCenterforHealthStatistics,vitalStatistics.Population Statistics:U.S.CensusBureau. Teenswhoabusealcoholordrugsisthepercent ofteensages12to17reportingdependence onorabuseofeitherillicitdrugsoralcoholin thepastyear.Illicitdrugsincludemarijuana, cocaine,heroin,hallucinogens,inhalantsor prescriptiondrugsusednonmedically.Dependenceorabuseisbasedondefinitionsfoundin theDiagnosticandStatisticalmanualofmental Disorders.Thesedataarebasedonatwo-year averageofsurveyresponses.SOUrCe:Substance AbuseandmentalHealthServicesAdministration,NationalSurveyonDrugUseandHealth.
FamilyandCommunityIndicators
Childreninsingle-parentfamiliesisthepercentageofchildrenunderage18wholivewiththeir ownunmarriedparent,eitherinafamilyorsubfamily.Inthisdefinition,single-parentfamilies mayincludecohabitingcouples.Childrenliving withmarriedstepparentsarenotconsideredto beinasingle-parentfamily.SOUrCe: U.S.Census Bureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey. Childreninfamilieswherethehouseholdhead lacksahighschooldiplomaisthepercentageof childrenunderage18livinginhouseholdswhere thehouseholdheaddoesnothaveahighschool diplomaorequivalent.SOUrCe: U.S.Census Bureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey. Childrenlivinginhigh-povertyareasisthe percentageofchildrenunderage18wholivein censustractswherethepovertyrateofthetotal populationis30percentormore.Incalendaryear 2010,afamilyoftwoadultsandtwochildrenfell inthepovertycategoryiftheirannualincome fellbelow$22,113.Thedataarebasedonincome receivedinthe12monthspriortothesurvey.The censustractleveldatausedinthisanalysisare onlyavailableinthefive-yearAmericanCommunitySurvey.Themostrecentyearofdatacovers thetimeperiod200610.SOUrCe: U.S.Census Bureau,AmericanCommunitySurvey. Teenbirthsisthenumberofbirthstoteenagers betweenages15and19per1,000femalesinthisage group.Datareflectthemothersplaceofresidence, ratherthantheplaceofthebirth.SOUrCeS:Birth Statistics: CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention,NationalCenterforHealthStatistics,vital Statistics.Population Statistics: U.S.CensusBureau.
52
Primary Contacts for State KIDS COUNT Projects
THeANNIee.CASeYFOUNDATIONprovides fundingandtechnicalassistanceforanational networkofKIDSCOUNTprojectsineverystate, theDistrictofColumbia,theU.S.virginIslands andtheCommonwealthofPuertorico.These projects,listedonthefollowingpages,measure andreportonthestatusofchildrenatthestate andlocallevels.Theyusethedatatoinform publicdebatesandencouragepublicactionto improvethelivesofchildren.
ThestateKIDSCOUNTprojectspublisharange ofdata-drivenmaterialsstatedatabooks, specialreports,issuebriefsandfactsheets thathelppolicymakersandcitizensidentify theneedsofchildrenandfamiliesanddevelop appropriateresponsestoaddresstheseneeds. muchofthelocal-leveldatacollectedbythe stateKIDSCOUNTgranteesareavailableat datacenter.kidscount.org.
State grantees
georgia
georgiaFamilyConnection Partnership,Inc.
www.gafcp.org (404)5277394
Alabama
vOICeSforAlabamasChildren www.alavoices.org (334)2132410
Colorado
ColoradoChildrensCampaign
www.coloradokids.org (303)839-1580
Formoreinformationabout thenetworkofstateKIDS COUNTgrantees,including mailingaddresses,please visitwww.kidscount.org.
Alaska
KIDSCOUNTAlaska kidscount.alaska.edu (907)7865431
Connecticut
ConnecticutAssociation forHumanServices
www.cahs.org (860)9512212
Hawaii
UniversityofHawaii CenterontheFamily
www.uhfamily.hawaii.edu (808)9563760
Arizona
ChildrensActionAlliance
www.azchildren.org (602)2660707
DistrictofColumbia
DCActionforChildren
www.dckids.org (202)2349404
Idaho
mountainStatesgroup
www.idahokidscount.org (208)3881014
Arkansas
ArkansasAdvocatesfor Children&Families
www.aradvocates.org (501)3719678
Delaware
UniversityofDelaware
www.dekidscount.org (302)8313462
Illinois
voicesforIllinoisChildren
www.voices4kids.org (312)456-0600
California
ChildrenNow
www.childrennow.org (510)7632444
Florida
UniversityofSouthFlorida FloridaKIDSCOUNT
www.floridakidscount.org (813)9747411
53
Indiana
IndianaYouthInstitute
www.iyi.org (317)396-2700
massachusetts
massachusettsBudget &PolicyCenter www.massbudget.org (617)4261228
Nebraska
voicesforChildreninNebraska www.voicesforchildren.com (402)5973100
Iowa
Child&FamilyPolicyCenter www.cfpciowa.org (515)2809027
michigan
michiganleaguefor HumanServices www.milhs.org (517)4875436
Nevada
CenterforBusiness andeconomicresearch http://business.unlv.edu/kids/ (702)895-3011
Kansas
KansasActionforChildren www.kac.org (785)2320550
minnesota
ChildrensDefense Fundminnesota www.cdf-mn.org (651)227-6121
NewHampshire
ChildrensAlliance ofNewHampshire www.childrennh.org (603)2252264
Kentucky
KentuckyYouth Advocates,Inc. www.kyyouth.org (502)8958167
mississippi
SocialScience researchCenter www.ssrc.msstate.edu/ mskidscount (662)3250851
NewJersey
AdvocatesforChildren ofNewJersey www.acnj.org (973)6433876
louisiana
AgendaforChildren www.agendaforchildren.org (504)5868509
Newmexico
NewmexicovoicesforChildren www.nmvoices.org (505)2449505
maine
maineChildrensAlliance www.mekids.org (207)6231868
missouri
PartnershipforChildren http://pfc.org (816)5319200
NewYork
NewYorkStateCouncil onChildren&Families www.ccf.ny.gov (518)4733652
maryland
AdvocatesforChildren&Youth www.acy.org (410)5479200
montana
BureauofBusiness &economicresearch www.montanakidscount.org (406)2432780
NorthCarolina
ActionforChildren NorthCarolina www.ncchild.org (919)8346623
54
NorthDakota
NorthDakotaStateUniversity www.ndkidscount.org (701)2315931
SouthCarolina
TheChildrensTrust ofSouthCarolina www.scchildren.org (803)733-5430
vermont
voicesforvermontsChildren www.voicesforvtkids.org (802)2296377
Ohio
ChildrensDefenseFundOhio www.cdfohio.org (614)2212244
SouthDakota
SDKIDSCOUNTProject www.sdkidscount.org (605)6776432
virginia
voicesforvirginiasChildren www.vakids.org (804)6490184
Oklahoma
OklahomaInstitutefor ChildAdvocacy www.oica.org (405)2365437
Tennessee
TennesseeCommission onChildren&Youth www.tn.gov/tccy/index.shtml (615)741-2633
washington
ChildrensAlliance http://childrensalliance.org (206)3240340
Oregon
ChildrenFirstforOregon www.cffo.org (503)2369754
westvirginia
westvirginiaKIDSCOUNTFund www.wvkidscountfund.org (304)3452101
Texas
CenterforPublicPolicyPriorities www.cppp.org/kidscount.php (512)3200222
Pennsylvania
PennsylvaniaPartnerships forChildren www.papartnerships.org (717)2365680
wisconsin
wisconsinCouncil onChildren&Families www.wccf.org (608)2840580
USvirginIslands
CFvI,Inc. www.cfvi.net (340)7746031
Puertorico
NationalCounciloflaraza www.nclr.org (787)9630156
Utah
voicesforUtahChildren www.utahchildren.org (801)3641182
wyoming
wyomingChildrens ActionAlliance www.wykids.com (307)635-2306
rhodeIsland
rhodeIslandKIDSCOUNT www.rikidscount.org (401)3519400
55
ABOUTTHe ANNIee.CASeY FOUNDATION ANDKIDSCOUNT
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization dedicated to helping build better futures for disadvantaged children in the United States. It was established in 1948 by Jim Casey, one of the founders of UPS, and his siblings, who named the Foundation in honor of their mother. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of todays vulnerable children and families. In pursuit of this goal, the Foundation makes grants that help states, cities and communities fashion more innovative, cost-effective responses to these needs.
KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. At the national level, the initiative develops and distributes reports on key areas of well-being, including the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book.
The initiative also maintains the KIDS COUNT Data Center, which uses the best available data to measure the educational, social, economic and physical well-being of children.
Additionally, the Foundation funds a nationwide network of state-level KIDS COUNT projects that provide a more detailed, community-by-community picture of the condition of children.
56
2012Anniee.CaseyFoundation 701St.PaulStreet Baltimore,mD21202 www.aecf.org KIDSCOUNTisaregisteredtrademark oftheAnniee.CaseyFoundation. Permissiontocopy,disseminateor otherwiseuseinformationfromthis DataBookisgrantedaslongas appropriateacknowledgmentisgiven. PrintedandboundintheUnitedStates ofAmericaonrecycledpaperusing soy-basedinks. ISSN1060-9814
DesignedbyKINeTIK www.kinetikcom.com PhotographySusieFitzhugh,Jason miczekandCynthiaSambro-rier Datacompiledby PopulationreferenceBureau www.prb.org
701 St. Paul Street Baltimore, MD 21202 410.547.6600 www.aecf.org

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statetrendsinchildwell-being

State trendS in child well-being

Unlikethedomainsof educationandHealth, wherechildrenare benefitingfromlong- termprogressoverall, theeconomicwell-Being ofchildrenandfamilies hasplummetedbecause oftherecession.

2012 kids count data book

State trendS in child well-being

wemustcometogether andcommitourselves toinvestingintoday's youngfamiliestoimprove thefutureforchildren, thenextgeneration andournation.

2012 kids count data book

Children in Poverty by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010

22% 38% 35% 14% 32% 13%

SOUrCeU.S.CensusBureau,2010AmericanCommunitySurvey. NOTeDataforAfricanAmericans,AmericanIndiansandAsiansandPacificIslanders alsoincludethosewhoareHispanic.

PatrickT.mcCarthy PresidentandCeO TheAnniee.CaseyFoundation

State trendS in child well-being

State trendS in child well-being

2012 kids count data book

New KIDS COUNT Index

Children in poverty Children whose parents

households with a high housing cost burden

Eighth graders not

lack secure employment

Teens not in school

Fourth graders not

High school students

not graduating on time

FAmIly AND COmmUNITy

low-birthweight babies Children without

Teens who abuse

Children in families where

Teen births per 1,000

State trendS in child well-being

2012 kids count data book

How Does the New Index Compare With Previous years?

State trendS in child well-being

State trendS in child well-being

National Trends in 16 Key Indicators of Child Well-Being by Domain

22% 19% 33% 27% 41% 37% 9% 8%

53% 56% 68% 70% 66% 72% 24% 27%

FAmIly AND COmmUNITy

8.2% 8.2% 8% 10% 27 32 7% 8%

34% 32% 15% 16% 11% 9% 39 40

Teen births per 1,000

2012 kids count data book

National Key Indicators by Race and Hispanic Origin

American Asianand Indian PacificIslander

Childreninpoverty:2010 Childrenwhoseparentslack secureemployment:2010 Childrenlivinginhouseholdswith ahighhousingcostburden:2010 Teensnotinschooland notworking:2010

22% 33% 41% 9%

38% 49% 53% 13%

35% 49% 36% 16%

14% 23% 42% 5%

32% 40% 52% 11%

13% 25% 32% 7%

FAmIly AND COmmUNITy

Childreninfamilieswherethehousehold 15% headlacksahighschooldiploma:2010 Childrenlivinginhigh-poverty areas:200610 Teenbirthsper1,000 :2009

State trendS in child well-being

2012 kids count data book

IW TC EM Overall Child Well-Being by State AM wederiveacompositeindexofoverallchildwell-beingforeachstate HN bycombiningdataacrossthefourdomains:(1)economicwell-Being,

OvERAll RANK ECONOmIC WEll-BEINg EDUCATION HEAlTH FAmIly AND COmmUNITy

113 1425 2637 3850

viewaninteractiveversion ontheDataCenterat: datacenter/kidscount.org/ databook/2012/

State trendS in child well-being

Economic Well-Being Domain Rank