When the Annie E. Casey Foundation published its first "KIDS COUNT Data Book" in 1990, there were 64 million children in America. Now, almost three decades later, there are close to 74 million. This 30th edition of the "Data Book" examines how America's child population has changed, demographically and geographically. The…

The Casey Foundation's "2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book" warns that the 2020 census is mired in challenges that could shortchange the official census count by at least 1 million kids younger than age 5. This discrepancy would put hundreds of millions of federal dollars at risk and, in doing so, underfund programs that are critical for family…

The "2017 KIDS COUNT Data Book" urges policymakers not to back away from targeted investments that help U.S. children become healthier, more likely to complete high school and better positioned to contribute to the nation's economy as adults. The "Data Book" also shows the child poverty rate in 2015 continued to drop, landing…

When Superintendent Denise Juneau took office in 2009, there were 2,423 students who dropped out of school, and Montana had a dropout rate of 5.1 percent. Inspired by the early successes of the Graduation Matters Missoula initiative, Superintendent Juneau launched Graduation Matters Montana in 2010. Graduation Matters Montana is a statewide effort…

In a time when graduation rates are showing notable improvement among students of color and students with disabilities, there are still great challenges that remain. The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities has published a monograph that explores the problem of high school dropout rates among American Indian, African…

This Kids Count report is the third to examine the well-being of Arkansas' children and the first to provide trend information. The statistical report is based on 10 core indicators of well-being: (1) unemployment rate and per capita personal income; (2) federal and state assistance program participation rates; (3) percent of high school students…