America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009

• NCJ Number: 226963
• Date Published: July 2009
• Length: 216 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

Using data collected regularly, reliably, and rigorously by Federal agencies, this report summarizes national data for 2009 on seven key domains of children's well-being, noting any changes from previous years.

Abstract

One of the seven domains of children's well-being, "family and social environment," presents data on indicators that characterize or are related to children's family and social environment. A second domain, "economic circumstances," includes data on indicators that characterize or are related to children's basic material needs. A third domain, "health care," reports data that characterize determinants of, or use of, health services for children. "Physical environment," a fourth domain, pertains to factors that characterize children's environmental conditions, particularly those related to their safety. "Behavior," a fifth domain, relates to children's personal behaviors and their effects. A sixth domain, "education," reports data on indicators that characterize or are related to how children learn and their progress in school. A seventh domain, "health," present data on indicators that characterize or are related to physical, mental, and social variables associated with children's health. Modifications intended to improve the report's quality and comprehensiveness include updates to data sources and substantive expansions or clarifications for several indicators; a regular indicator on adolescent depression has been added; and a special feature, "Children with Special Health Care Needs," has been added. One appendix presents detailed tables for each measure, as well as additional data not contained in the main body of the report. When available and feasible, data address gender, age, race and Hispanic origin, poverty status, parental education, region of the country, and family structure. A second appendix describes the data sources and surveys used to generate the demographic-background measures and the indicators.