America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2002

• NCJ Number: 195647
• Date Published: July 2002
• Length: 143 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored; OJJDP
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This sixth report in an annual series presents information and data on 24 key indicators that represent important aspects of children's lives, including their economic security, health, behavior, social environment, and education.

Abstract

Part I provides data on the child population and family characteristics. It reports that in 2000 there were 70.4 million children under age 18 in the United States (26 percent of the population), with the racial and ethnic diversity of America's children continuing to increase. In 2001, 61 percent of children from birth through age 6 received some form of child care regularly from persons other than their parents. Part II presents data on indicators of children's well-being. Regarding economic security indicators, in 2000, 16 percent of children lived in families with incomes below the poverty threshold, representing the lowest poverty rate among children since 1979. Regarding health indicators, the infant mortality rate did not decline in 1998; there was a significant drop in 1999 to 7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Mortality for children ages 5 to 14 declined between 1998 and 1999; however, there was no significant change in mortality rates for children ages 1 to 4 or for adolescents ages 15 to 19. Regarding behavior and social environment indicators, since 1993 the violent crime victimization rate for youth ages 12 to 17 has declined by 63 percent, from 44 violent crimes per 1,000 youth in 1993 to 16 per 1,000 youth in 2000. Since 1993, the violent-crime offending rate for youth ages 12 to 17 has decreased by 67 percent, from 52 violent crimes per 1,000 youth in 1993 to 17 per 1,000 youth in 2000. Regarding education indicators, in 2001 the percentage of high school graduates ages 25 to 29 who continued their education and received a bachelor's degree remained at the all-time high of 33 percent; the percentage of Black, non-Hispanic high school graduates who earned a bachelor's degree increased from 14 percent in 1985 to 20 percent in 2001. Extensive tables and figures and appended data source descriptions