New Report Provides Key Indicators on the Well-Being of America’s Children

July 31, 2009 - The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has released a report that provides a summary of key indicators on the well-being of our nation’s children. The report aims to make Federal data on children and families available in an easy-to-use, non-technical format; stimulate discussions among policymakers and the public; and spur exchanges between data providers and policy communities. 

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009 lists seven domains: Family and Social Environment; Economic Circumstances; Health Care; Physical Environment and Safety; Behavior; Education; and Health.  Within those domains, key indicators are highlighted including: 

  • In 2008, children made up 24 percent of the population; 
  • The percentage of children who are Hispanic has increased faster than that of any other racial or ethnic group; 
  • In 2007, 21 percent of school-age children spoke a language other than English at home; 
  • In 2007, 40 percent of all births were to unmarried women, the highest percentage ever reported; 
  • The number of children without health insurance at any time during 2007 was 8.1 million (11 percent of all children); 
  • In 2005, eight percent of children ages 0-6 lived in homes where someone smoked regularly, down from 27 percent in 1994; 
  • In 2003-2004, on average, the quality of diets of younger children was better when compared with that of older children with regard to fruit, milk, and extra calories; and 
  • In 2007, about nine percent of children were reported to currently have asthma and the prevalence of asthma was particularly high among Black, non-Hispanic children and Puerto Rican children. 

This year’s report includes a new, regular indicator on adolescent depression, and the indicator on diet quality has been updated to reflect changes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Healthy Eating Index and has been moved to the “Health” section to better reflect its relation to healthy behavior and overweight.  In addition, some indicators have more detailed data on race and ethnicity than others and many indicators include data tabulated by family income and poverty status. 

To access this report, click here.

Source: "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009."


 

 
 
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