The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book has released its 2016 report on trends in child well-being, both by state and in overall view of the nation-wide trends. This year’s report finds that kids, identified in the report as “Generation X,” are “healthier and completing high school on time despite mounting economic inequality and increasingly unaffordable college tuition,” crediting smarter policies and prevention-focused programs.
The report focuses on current trends in this post-recession era and makes strong recommendations to policy-makers for preparing this generation well for the future based on the nation’s “shared values of opportunity, responsibility and security.” The 50+ page report is full of interesting statistics regarding how children in the country are living and functioning in several key areas of our society. It measures overall health and well-being using four general domains to categorize the data. An explanation from the text of the report itself explains the methodology:
The KIDS COUNT index uses four domains to capture what children need most to thrive: (1) Economic Well-Being, (2) Education, (3) Health and (4) Family and Community. Each domain includes four indicators, for a total of 16. These indicators represent the best available data to measure the status of child well-being at the state and national levels. (For a more thorough description of the KIDS COUNT index, visit www.aecf.org/2016db.)
The KIDS COUNT Data Book is a publication of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in partnership with Child Trends. The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book can be viewed, downloaded or ordered at www.aecf.org/2016db.
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