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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Interagency Forum on Child & Family Statistics released this month its annual report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. The report is a compendium of indicators illustrating both the promises and the difficulties confronting the U.S.’s young people.

America’s Children presents 40 key indicators on important aspects of children's lives. These indicators are balanced so no single area of children's lives dominates the report. Data are measured regularly so they can be updated to show trends over time, and representative of large segments of the population rather than one particular group.

The report contains annual updates on the well-being of children and families in the United States across a range of domains. A more detailed report alternates every other year with a condensed version that highlights selected indicators. This year, the Forum, a collection of 22 federal agencies and partners in private research organizations, published the full report.

The report presents indicators grouped by seven sections: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. A special feature, “Children with Special Health Care Needs,” has been included. “The value of the America's Children reports and the extraordinary cooperation they represent reflect the Forum's determination to advance our understanding of where our children are today and what may be needed to bring them a better tomorrow,” writes Katherine Wallman, chief statistician, Office of Management and Budget, in the Foreword to this year’s report. She stressed that none of the work would be possible “without the continued cooperation of millions of American citizens who willingly provide the data” analyzed by staff in the federal agencies. Highlights of this year’s report follow:

Demographic background

In 2008, there were 73.9 million children ages 0-17 in the United States or 24% of the population. That’s down from a peak of 36% at the end of the "baby boom" (1964).

Racial and ethnic diversity in the United States continues to increase over time. In 2008, 56% of U.S. children were White, non-Hispanic; 22% were Hispanic; % were Black; 4% were Asian; and 5% were of other races. The percentage of children who are Hispanic has increased faster than any other racial or ethnic group, growing from 9% of the child population in 1980 to 22% in 2008.

Family and social environment

In 2008, 67% of children ages 0-17 lived with two married parents, down from 77% in 1980.

The non-marital birth rate in 2007 was 53 births per 1,000 unmarried women ages 15-44 years. The non-marital birth rate has increased annually since 2000-2002, when it was relatively stable at 44 births per 1,000. In 2007, 40% of all births were to unmarried women, the highest percentage ever reported.

In 2007, 21% of school-age children spoke a language other than English at home. Five percent of school-age children both spoke a language other than English at home and had difficulty speaking English.

Economic circumstances

In 2007, 18% of all children ages 0-17 lived in poverty, an increase from 17% in 2006. Among children living in families, the poverty rate was also 18% in 2007.

The percentage of children who had at least one parent working year round, full time was 77% in 2007, down from 78% in 2006.

Health care

In 2007, 89% of children had health insurance coverage at some point during the year, up from 88% in 2006. Those without health insurance at any time during 2007 was 8.1 million.

In 2007, 77% of children ages 2-17 had a dental visit in the past year. In 2003-2004, 25% of children ages 2-17 had untreated dental cavities, an increase from 21% in 1999–2002.

Physical environment and safety

In 2007, 66% of children lived in counties in which one or more air pollutants were above allowable levels. Ozone is the pollutant most often above the allowable levels as defined by the Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Children's exposure to secondhand smoke, as indicated by blood cotinine levels, dropped between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006. Overall, 51% of children ages 4-11 had cotinine in their blood in 2005-2006, down from 88% in 1988-1994. In 2005, 8% of children ages 0-6 lived in homes where someone smoked regularly, down from 27% in 1994.

In 2007, 43% of households with children had one or more of three housing problems: physical inadequacy, crowding, or a cost burden of more than 30% of income. This percentage increased from 30% in 1978.

Behavior

Heavy drinking declined from the most recent peaks of 13% in 1996 to 8% in 2008 for 8th-grade students, from 24% in 2000 to 16% in 2008 for 10th-grade students, and from 32% in 1998 to 25% in 2008 for 12th-grade students.

Education

In 2007, 89% of young adults ages 18-24 had completed high school with a diploma or an alternative credential such as a General Education Development (GED) certificate. The high school completion rate has increased slightly since 1980, when it was 84%.

In 2007, 67% of high school completers enrolled immediately in a two-year or four-year college. Between 1980 and 2007, the rate of immediate college enrollment has trended upward from 49% to 67%. The rate has fluctuated from year to year.

Health

In 2007, 8% of youths ages 12-17 had a Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the past year, down from 9% in 2004. The percentage of youths with MDE receiving treatment for depression in the past year remained stable from 2004 to 2007 (40% in 2004 and 39% in 2007).

In 2003-2004, on average, the quality of the diets of younger children was better when compared with that of older children with regard to fruit, milk and extra calories. The quality of the diets of older children was better with regard to meat, oils, and saturated fat.

Children with special health-care needs

In 2005-2006, an estimated 14% of children ages 0-17 had a special health-care need. This was based on parents' reports that their child had a health problem expected to last at least 12 months and which required prescription medication, more services than most children, special therapies, or which limited his or her ability to do things most children can do.

For more highlights from each section, go to America's Children, 2009.