NCJ Number
209996
Date Published
July 2003
Length
161 pages
Annotation
This 2003 annual report, the seventh in an annual series, presents data and information on 25 key indicators of the well-being of America's children.
Abstract
As in previous volumes, this report contains a Population and Family Characteristics section that presents data on key contextual measures, followed by sections on key indicators in four domains: economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. The section on health indicators has been expanded to include the percentage of overweight children. Two new measures in the section on Population and Family Characteristics are the percentage of children living with at least one parent who was foreign-born and the percentage of children being exposed to second-hand smoke. The special feature of this year's report highlights changes in the lives of America's children for 9 key indicators, based on 1990 and 2000 decennial census data for all 50 States and the District of Columbia. The report indicates progress in a number of areas of child well-being. Adolescents were more likely to take honors courses; children overall were less likely to die in infancy or in adolescence; and young women have continued the downward trend in having children in adolescence. After a steady, decades-long decline, the percentage of children with married parents has remained unchanged since 1996. Less progress, however, was evident in children's economic security. After many years of decline, the poverty rate remained stable, and the percentage of children with a parent employed full-time declined slightly; the percentage of households with children that had any housing problems has maintained the same rate since 1995. The percentage of children covered by health insurance maintained an all-time high. Also, the prevalence of overweight children has emerged as a serious public health concern. Extensive tables and figures and data-source descriptions