The 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book Now Available

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2019 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, just released, brings good news!

Over the last three decades, child well-being in the United States has generally improved. Bright spots include:

• a 68% decrease in the teen birth rate;
• a 62% drop in the share of kids without health insurance;
• record-high teen graduation rates; and
• unprecedented rates of 3- and 4-year-olds attending preschool.

Such gains speak to the power of smart policy decisions. But as the Data Book's 30th edition reveals: There's still more work to do.

America continues to have unacceptably low rates of reading and math proficiency, in addition to seeing an uptick in the number of kids without health insurance and the persistence of racial and ethnic disparities that create more of an uphill climb for children of color.

Click here to read the Data Book and Casey's charge to policymakers and communities.

Source: The Annie E-News