2018 Kids Count Data Book
State Trends in Child Well-Being

How are the children in your state faring in your state?

The Annie E. Casey Foundation acknowledges that contributions of many make the KIDS COUNT Data Book possible.

This publication opens by dealing with the census. The 2010 census failed to count nearly 1 million children under ag 5. Some of the reasons why this happened are:

  1. Whole families are not counted because living arrangements are complex
  2. Kids live in places traditionally that are harder to count. These include places where poverty is high and where multi-unit buildings and rental housing are more common.
  3. Some families respond to the census, but don’t include all members on the survey.

If kids facing the greatest obstacles are not counted, their needs become invisible. Their future becomes uncertain. The 2020 census will be the first one conducted primarily online.

KID COUNT has ranked states annually on overall child well-being using 4 domains as to what children need most to thrive.

  1. Economic well-being
  2. Education
  3. Health
  4. Family and Community

The value of the KID COUNT Data Book is that one can look at his own state and compare each of the domains with other states. One can see trends in certain states and parts of the country. For example, the New England states typically rate high in overall well-being. The bottom of the rankings was in states in Appalachia as well as the southeast and southwest where families have the lowest levels of household income.

The 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book is full of colored charts, graphs, maps and photos on almost every page, making it easy to compare and analyze the data.

This publication could be useful to national, state and local leaders involved with families and children, including foster care, teachers, adoption agencies, and those in healthcare and education.
The 2018 KID COUNT Data Book can be viewed, downloaded or ordered (free of charge) at www.aecf.org/databook.