Beginning in 2011, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) started publishing the Paterson Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's third largest city. Paterson Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security,…

Cultural competence among child welfare professionals is imperative given the rapidly changing American demographics. Current inadequacy in the delivery of culturally responsive social services is due to inadequate cultural competence training for child welfare professionals. This research study investigated the extent to which cultural competence…

Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system (Crosse, Kaye, & Ratnofsky, 1992; Sullivan & Knutson, 2000). Although research on this topic is limited, youth with disabilities who are emancipating from foster care are at risk for particularly poor outcomes, experiencing even lower rates of employment,…

The U.S. Young Child Poverty Rate (YCPR) is at least one-third higher and usually two to three times as high as the YCPR in any of 12 other Western industrialized nations. This report highlights key facts regarding the six million young children living in poverty in the United States and the millions more living in near poverty, and it provides…

This paper examines patterns of change in the number of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan Texas counties, 1980-1990. Specifically, the paper analyzes how changes in AFDC enrollment can be explained by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and the extent to which factors explaining…

Although the Task Force on School Governance report claims that restructuring of school boards is essential to save the nation's failing schools, the real failure is society itself. Societal problems such as the nation's $4 trillion debt, air and water pollution, crime, drug abuse, and special interest lobbies abound, and legislators'…

This report provides information on 12 indicators of child and adolescent health, education, and economic status in West Virginia at the state and county level. It includes a state profile, a minority profile, and 55 county profiles. Each of the indicators is discussed on a state-wide basis. The bulk of the report consists of one-page county…

Background: Disadvantaged communities are increasingly the target for interventions. Sure Start was launched in England in 1999 to tackle child poverty and improve child and family services, with Sure Start Local Programmes (SSLPs) targeted at relatively small areas of marked deprivation. However, they are located in a range of different types of…

This report provides information on 12 indicators of child and adolescent health, education, and economic status in West Virginia at the state and county level. The report includes a state profile, a minority profile, and 55 county profiles. Each of the indicators is discussed on a state-wide basis. The bulk of the report consists of 1-page county…

Child poverty, as a critical indicator of the QOL, is intricately related to the social structure of the community. This hypothesis is explored for the 159 counties of Georgia for the year 2000. The influence of demographic, economic, family and health factors upon child poverty are explored through models of total, black and white child poverty.…

Several major demographic shifts over the past half-century have transformed who we are and how we live in this country in many ways. Most striking, however, is the fact that children today are much more likely to be members of ethnic or racial minority groups. Racial/ethnic minorities are destined, in aggregate, to become the numerical majority…

This Kids Count data book provides information on indicators of the well-being of Arkansas' children. The report's introduction discusses factors contributing to increased attention to children and families, the need for broad-based community collaborations to address children and family needs, and cultural changes influencing families. Data…

This Kids Count data book and report card examines statewide and county level trends in the well-being of California's children, with an additional focus on indicators of the new economic realities encountered by families as counties take on greater responsibility for local welfare programs. The statistical portrait is based on indicators in the…