On July 28, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the twentieth annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, which profiles the well-being of America’s children on a state-by-state basis and ranks states on ten measures of well-being.
In the companion essay to this year’s Data Book, the foundation calls on federal leaders, state and local decisionmakers, and children’s advocates to transform how they use data to improve the lives of vulnerable children. Specifically, it calls for leadership at the federal level to develop high-quality data systems; a commitment at the state and local levels to improve performance measurement; and engagement of children’s advocates and other concerned leaders.
The 2009 KIDS COUNT Data Book is available at http://www.aecf.org/.