2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book Online >
Summary and Findings
National Trends in Child Well-Being
The data on the following pages present a rich but complex picture of American children. Some dimensions of well-being improved, some worsened, and some showed little change. However, the overriding picture that these 10 indicators present is one of little change since 2000. (See the USA Profile on page 58.) At the national level, 6 of the 10 indicators of child well-being showed that conditions improved since 2000 (2 only slightly), while child well-being worsened on 4 indicators. It should be noted, however, that many of these changes were very small and may be nothing more than random fluctuations. The portrait of child well-being varies among states, and state-level measures often mask important differences within a state. Of the 50 states, only 9 states improved on more than 5 of the 10 measures used here.
The portrait of change in child well-being since 2000 stands in stark contrast to the period just prior to 2000. Between 1996 and 2000, 8 of the 10 key indicators used in KIDS COUNT improved, and several improved dramatically. The improvement was experienced by every major racial group and in nearly all of the states.
Pre- and post-2000 trends are clearly illustrated by changes in the rate of child poverty since the mid-1990s. Between 1994 and 2000, the child poverty rate fell by 30 percent. This was the largest decrease in child poverty since the 1960s. Since 2000, however, the child poverty rate has increased by 2 percentage points, meaning almost 1.2 million more children in poverty in 2005 than in 2000.
Table 2 provides a summary of results from this year’s KIDS COUNT Data Book and highlights the enormous variation among the states. The rates of the worst states are approximately two to four times those of the best states on every indicator.
The importance of reporting state-level data is underscored by the fact that most measures in most states are statistically significantly different from the national value for each measure. In other words, the national value for a measure does not tell you much about most states. Tables showing the statistical significance of differences among states and changes over time are provided on the KIDS COUNT website (www.aecf.org/kidscount).
The KIDS COUNT Data Book utilizes rates and percentages because that is the best way to compare states to each other 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 that are examined in this report. The number of events or number of children reflected in each of the national rates for the 10 key indicators used to rank states are provided on corresponding indicator pages. These data underscore the fact that thousands of children die every year, and millions are at risk because of poverty, family structure, lack of parental employment, or risky behavior. Similar data showing the numbers behind the state rates are offered in Appendix 1 and on the KIDS COUNT website.
