2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book Online >
Summary and Findings
Variations in Child Well-Being by Race and Ethnicity
Not all children have the same opportunities to succeed. Some children, particularly children of color, face greater barriers to achieving success as they move through childhood and adolescence. Table 1 provides national statistics for five large racial and ethnic groups on each of the 10 measures of child well-being used to rank states. Over the next year, we will be working to include state-level data for these racial and ethnic groups for our 10 key indicators at the KIDS COUNT Data Center (www.kidscount.org/datacenter).
Nationally, the differences in child wellbeing across racial and ethnic lines vary by indicator. Our ability to progress as a nation depends on the degree to which we can create opportunities for all children to succeed. In fact, nationally, since 2000, gaps in the differences in child well-being along racial and ethnic lines have decreased in some areas—most notably the high school dropout rate. However, on the whole, non-Hispanic white children continue to have greater opportunities for better outcomes compared with most other racial and ethnic groups. Comparative data from 2000 for the information contained in Table 1 can be found at the KIDS COUNT Data Center (www.kidscount.org/datacenter).