Review publications on the status of children and families.
2015 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2015 KIDS COUNT® Data Book signals that the U.S. economy is finally starting to bounce back from the Great Recession. The evidence? Unemployment rates are down, consumer spending is up, and America added 2.95 million jobs in 2014 — the largest employment gains since 1999.
2018 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The Casey Foundation's 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book warns that the 2020 census is mired in challenges that could shortchange the official census count by at least 1 million kids younger than age 5. This discrepancy would put hundreds of millions of federal dollars at risk and, in doing so, underfund programs that are critical for family stability and opportunity. The Data Book also looks at trends in child well-being during a period that saw continued improvement in economic well-being but mixed results in the areas of health, education and family and community factors. The report includes the Foundation's signature rankings in key areas of child well-being. This year, New Hampshire is at the top of the rankings.
2018 AECF Opening Doors for Young Parents Policy Report
In its latest KIDS COUNT® policy report, the Annie E. Casey Foundation highlights the needs and challenges of the more than 6 million young adult parents and their children living in the United States. Opening Doors for Young Parents illustrates the challenges young parents encounter especially in a changing economy. For example, young parents (ages 18-24) are more likely to work full-time than nonparents, but their median annual family income is just $23,000 — only slightly above the federal poverty level for a family of three. Some 69 percent of the children of young parents live in low-income families.
2019 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 30th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT® Data Book begins by exploring how America’s child population - and the American childhood experience - has changed since 1990. And there’s some good news to share: Of the 16 areas of child well-being tracked across four domains - health, education, family and community and economic well-being - 11 have improved since the Foundation published its first Data Book 30 editions ago.
2020 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 31st edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before the coronavirus pandemic began. This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and the latest available data on child well-being. It also identifies multi-year trends - comparing statistics from 2010 to 2018.
2021 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 32nd edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how children across the United States were faring before - and during - the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and the latest available data on child well-being. It identifies multiyear trends - comparing statistics from 2010 to 2019. In addition, the report shares data on how families endured throughout the pandemic.
2022 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 33rd edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how children in America are in the midst of a mental health crisis, struggling with anxiety and depression at unprecedented levels. This year’s publication continues to present national and state data across four domains - economic well-being, education, health and family and community - and ranks states in overall child well-being. The report includes pre-pandemic figures as well as more recent statistics, and shares the latest information of its kind available.
2023 AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 34th edition of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's KIDS COUNT® Data Book describes how the country’s lack of affordable and accessible child care negatively affects children, families and U.S. businesses. This year’s publication continues to present national and state data across four domains - economic well-being, education, health and family and community - and ranks states in overall child well-being. The report includes pre-pandemic figures as well as more recent statistics, and shares the latest information of its kind available.
A Shared Sentence - The Devastating Toll of Parental Incarceration
The 2016 Annie E. Casey Foundation report, A Shared Sentence: The Devastating Toll of Parental Incarceration on Kids, Families and Communities, highlights the impact incarceration has on children’s well-being. Learn more about policy recommendations here.
Adverse Childhood Experiences among New York’s Adults
Optimal child well-being is related to our ability to provide children with safe, nurturing, stable environments that support their development of sound cognitive, emotional and social skills. However, their development can be jeopardized when individuals are exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This brief describes the types of adverse childhood events experienced by adults in New York state as well as their use of peer recovery and medical services.
AECF 2013 Data Book
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2013 KIDS COUNT® Data Book is now available. Using its comprehensive index to measure child well-being at the national and state level, the data book shows that children have continued to see gains in education and health. Also, as the nation’s economy recovers, America’s children are seeing modest improvements in economic well-being. The KIDS COUNT index covers four categories — Economic Well-Being, Education, Health and Family and Community — each with four indicators. The Data Book presents the latest trends, starting pre-recession and ending with the most recent year of available data. Be sure to visit the newly redesigned KIDS COUNT Data Center, which also contains the most recent national, state and local data on hundreds of measures of child well-being.
AECF 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 25th edition of Casey’s annual report on child well-being — the 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book — examines how U.S. children have fared since 1990. While national and state policies have resulted in positive gains in child health and education, the Data Book notes a decline in the economic well-being of children and the communities in which they live. In addition to its retrospective analysis, the report looks at the latest data and uses 16 key indicators to rank states on child well-being.
AECF 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book
The 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book from the Annie. E. Casey Foundation highlights the importance of policies and investments in prevention. Teenagers of Generation Z – the rising cohort born after 1995 that follows the Millennials – broke records in education and health indicators despite growing up in the midst of the economic downturn.
AECF KIDS COUNT Data Book (2017)
The 2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book revealed that New York children experienced improvement or remained the same in 12 of the 16 measures of child well-being. Currently, 98 in 100 children in New York have health insurance. Another notable improvement was a drop in the percent of teens ages 12 to 17 who abused alcohol or drugs in the past year (dropped three percentage points from 8% to 5%).
AECF Policy Report - Creating Opportunity for Families
For many American families, every day is a juggling act involving work, child care, school and conflicting schedules. But for low-income families, the balls are more likely to fall, and the consequences can be dire when they do. A lack of reliable child care can mean fewer work hours or even a lost job. Weekly or daily shift changes require repeatedly stitching together a patchwork of care. Just getting to work is tough without dependable transportation.
AECF Poverty Data Snapshot - MEASURING ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot, Measuring Access to Opportunity, highlights the advantages of using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to gauge the effectiveness of government programs aimed at reducing child poverty.
AECF Race for Results Policy Report (2017)
In this KIDS COUNT policy report, the Foundation explores the intersection of children, opportunity, race and immigration. The report features updated data for the Race for Results Index, which measures how children are progressing on key milestones by race and ethnicity at the national and state levels. The report also explores the significant barriers facing children in immigrant families, the majority of whom are also children or color, and offers recommendations for helping children in these families secure the stability, economic resources and opportunities all of the nation's children need to thrive.
Autism Brief
It is estimated that nationally one child in 110 has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This research brief highlights factors associated with ASD, challenges with early diagnosis, and provides an overview of children in New York who are identified as having an ASD.
Childhood Poverty Persistence: Facts and Consequences
More than one-third of American children live part of their lives in poverty, and 10 percent are persistently poor, according to a study by the Urban Institute, with support from the Casey Foundation. The analysis of data from 1968 to 2005 showed that black children are about 2 ½ times more likely to experience poverty than white children and seven times more likely to be persistently poor, meaning they spend half their childhood below the poverty threshold.
Children in Immigrant Families
This brief describes characteristics of children in immigrant parents and highlights differences between children who are immigrants and children who are US citizens and have immigrant parents. Resources that support immigrant families are included.
Chronic Absenteeism Among New York Students (Risk of)
Current and proposed policies that require rigorous curricula, high quality instruction and a higher age for when students are able to leave school are grounded in a basic assumption that children are actually present in school and able to benefit from such policies. Yet, a look at chronic absenteeism in two of the state’s largest school districts indicates a high percentage of students are absent for a month or more of the school year. This brief examines key student outcomes and school characteristics by schools’ level of risk for chronic absenteeism. The information serves as a first step in efforts to support schools and students so that prevention strategies can be provided early on, at a point in time when they are most likely to succeed.
Early Reading in NYS Infographic
We know children who are proficient readers by the end of third grade are more likely to graduate from high school and to be economically successful in adulthood. The Council on Children and Families produced this infographic highlighting reading proficiency in New York State.
Essay on Disconnected Youth
This essay uses a variety of data sources and adolescent age groupings to provide readers with a description of the current social, economic and biological challenges youth encounter as they transition to adulthood, highlighting state and national data and depict youth at-risk of being disconnected as well as approaches to successful reconnection.
Every Kid Needs a Family
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Policy Report, Every Kids Needs A Family, examines the best practices in the child welfare field that are showing how we can protect children and preserve their family connections.
FASD Guidebooks
Early learning professionals are key players in the success of infants and young children who are experiencing developmental challenges. With connections to parents and other primary caregivers; evaluative tools and skills; and influence on the child’s educational programming, early learning professionals are in a unique position to put solutions into place.
Health Care After 2014 - How will it affect you?
An 11x17 poster showing Health Care choices for New Yorkers after 2014.
Identifying High Needs Communities in New York State
Young children’s well-being can be compromised by a range of risk factors associated with children, their families, the quality of schools they attend and their communities; it is also well-established that these risks can be offset by early supports to children and families. Therefore, identifying communities where young children are disproportionately exposed to factors that can compromise their development enables us to align and mobilize resources that promote their well-being and offset factors that place them at risk. This research brief describes the method used to identify high need communities in New York state, with particular emphasis on children from birth to age 5 years.
KIDS COUNT 2011 Data Book (AECF)
The 2011 Annual Data Book is a comprehensive resource on the status of U.S. children, featuring state-specific data on ten key indicators of child well-being. Please visit the Data Book home page to download the report and create maps, graphs, and charts at the national, state, and local level. The new mobile Data Center offers hundreds of measures of child well-being available on any smartphone: http://mobile.kidscount.org.
KIDS COUNT 2012 Data Book (AECF)
The 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book introduces a new KIDS COUNT index, which provides a detailed picture of how children are faring in the United States. In addition to ranking states on overall child well-being, the Data Book provides state rankings for four domains: Economic Well-Being, Education, Health, and Family and Community.
Kinship Children in New York State
Kinship care is an extremely valuable alternative to traditional foster care, offering children strong familial bonds that provide them with a sense of positive identify, belonging and security. It can also pose considerable emotional, legal and financial challenges for caregivers. This brief highlights the benefits of kinship care and provides information about kinship care options in New York, financial benefits available through each option as well as information about where children and their caregivers can access supports.
Level Playing Field for New York's Children in Immigrant Families
Early learning programs play a critical role in equalizing opportunities, particularly for children in immigrant families who are often living in poverty. This research brief reviews the early learning enrollment rates among children in immigrant families, identifies differences in enrollment by mother's country of origin and examines a series of child, family, and economic factors that influence whether children are enrolled in early learning programs.
Look at Child Poverty in New York State
It is well-established that childhood poverty can have a long- lasting, detrimental effect on child development. This report, A Look at Child Poverty in New York State, highlights the impact of childhood poverty, presents information regarding the status of child poverty in New York by child and family characteristics and, presents findings on how child poverty rates in New York change when alternative poverty measures are employed. Additionally, results are provided on the extent anti-poverty programs and policies reduce New York’s child poverty rate when using the current federal poverty measure and an alternative measure that more accurately assesses family resources and expenses.
Nourishing New York's Children
Proper nutrition, the building blocks for children’s health, cognitive development and overall growth, is essential for children’s healthy development. This brief describes the status of food insecurity in New York, provides an overview of programs intended to target this issue and presents county-level data on many of the factors that contribute to inadequate nourishment.
NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT Data Book (2015)
This 2015 New York KIDS COUNT Data Book/Data Summary presents information about the state of New York's children as well as programs and policies that enhance opportunities for the them and their families. In addition, individual Congressional District Fact Sheets are available.
NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT Data Book - 2012
The theme of the 2012 NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT Data Book is all data are local. This data book is very different from previous editions, in that it has incorporated county subdivision data within a map for every county in New York State combining data about children living in poverty along with community resources that support healthy development (e.g., locations of WIC, Early Head Start and Head Start programs, etc.). This new visualization can be used as a tool to more accurately depict our communities; educate fellow New Yorkers about the important issues that are impacting the daily lives of children; and guide our conversations and decisions around child well-being. Additional county-specific data are provided with each county map, including a pie chart with age group distributions from the 2010 U.S. Census. Individual two-page county reports are also available for download. To download individual county map pages, visit: www.ccf.ny.gov/KidsCount/KCReports.cfm#countymaps
NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT Data Book - 2013
This year's edition of the Data Book uses the Touchstones framework to present a wide range of information related to six key areas of child well-being through the lens of diversity. We have gathered data that highlight racial and ethnic differences as well as the impact of these differences on children's healthy growth and development.
Place to Call Home
When children are separated from their homes, they often are also separated from other family members, their peers, teachers and others who may provide them with a sense of support and stability. This brief highlights the factors that play a role in family and youth homelessness and the type of supports that can prevent or reduce the likelihood of this experience.
Poverty Brief - NYS
Based on the Supplemental Poverty Measures, one-in-five children in New York State lives in poverty. Learn about safety net programs in New York State that support these children.
Race for Results - AECF Policy Report
Building a pathway to opportunity for all children – especially children of color – is an urgent matter. Children of color face multiple barriers to opportunity. These barriers often stem from our country’s unfortunate history of discrimination that has made accessing the pathway to economic success more difficult for many families.
Race for Results - New York State Infographic
This infographic shows race results for New York State using the same indicators detailed in the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Race for Results policy report.
Reports on America: Children in Immigrant Families Chart New Path
The vast majority of the 16 million children in America's immigrant families are U.S. citizens who were born in the United States to foreign-born parents. The well-being of children in immigrant families varies based on their parents' country of origin, education, and the circumstances of their migration to the United States. This report culminates a three-year study of the characteristics of children in immigrant families funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Stepping Up for Kids
In its first policy report of the year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation explores the increased number of children living with extended family and close friends, a longtime practice known as kinship care. Stepping Up for Kids: What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families includes the latest data for states, the District of Columbia, and the nation, as well as a set of recommendations on how to support kinship families.
The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success
The report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, The First Eight Years: Giving Kids a Foundation for Lifetime Success, highlights the importance of supports for families and the lasting impact of quality early childhood programs on children as they progress through school and into adulthood.
The Missouri Model: Reinventing the Practice of Rehabilitation of Youthful Offenders
The Annie E. Casey Foundation believes that this country’s continuing reliance on large youth corrections facilities—whether they are called training schools, reformatories, or youth development centers—has been expensive, ineffective, and all too often abusive. Youth correctional facilities are routinely found to be unsafe, unhealthy, and unconstitutional, underscoring the need for dramatic changes in how these places are staffed, programmed, and organized. Missouri’s excellent results, described in detail in this guide, speak for themselves. They produce far lower recidivism than other states, an impressive safety record, and positive youth outcomes—all at a modest budget far smaller than that of many states with less-enviable outcomes.
Using Data to Build Comprehensive Systems
Each day community coalitions across the state work diligently to improve systems of care. Coalitions formed to address the needs of infants and families that were brought together through a partnership between the Council on Children and Families and the Early Care and Learning Council (formerly the New York State Child Care Coordinating Council). The materials presented here are designed to help the early childhood community coalitions interested in improving services for children and families.
Why Reading by the End of 3rd Grade Matters (2010-Data Book)
This report focuses on effective strategies for achieving grade level reading proficiency for all children, emphasizing the importance of having children be able to read by grade 3 so they can use this skill to learn to read.
Youth Employment Policy Report (KIDS COUNT)
In this KIDS COUNT youth employment policy report, the Casey Foundation finds that nearly 6.5 million U.S. teens and young adults are neither in school nor in the workforce. With employment among young people at its lowest levels since the 1950s, these youth are veering toward chronic unemployment as adults and failing to gain the skills employers need in the 21st century. In addition to new national and state data on the issue, the report offers recommendations to support youth in gaining a stronger foothold in the economy.
Youth Incarceration Data Snapshot (KIDS COUNT)
In the latest KIDS COUNT data snapshot on youth incarceration, the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds that the rate of young people locked up because of trouble with the law dropped more than 40 percent over a 15-year period, with no decrease in public safety.