Based on data from 23 federal agencies that produce and/or use national data on children and are involved in improving federal data on America’s children, this report presents selected key indicators of the well-being of the nation’s children as of 2020, as well as changes that have occurred in the indicators since the last report.
This report identifies seven major domains that characterize the well-being of a child and influence the likelihood that a child will develop into a well-educated, economically secure, productive, and healthy adult. The seven domains are family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. Family and social environment indicators characterize children’s family lives and social settings. Economic circumstances encompass indicators related to children’s basic material needs. Indicators for health care characterize access to and the use of health services among children. Indicators pertinent to physical health and safety characterize children’s environmental conditions related to their safety. Indicators related to children’s behavior characterize personal behaviors and their effects. Indicators pertinent to education characterize how children learn and progress in school. Health indicators characterize the physical, mental, and social aspects of children’s health.