Top 7 Reports from July 2012: Children and Families
The State of America’s Children
Millions of children are living hopeless, violence-stricken lives in the war zones of our cities, in the educational deserts of our rural areas and within a corrosive culture that saturates them with violent, materialistic and individualistic messages. No, the state of America’s Children is not pretty, as the latest report from The Children’s Defense Fund tells us.
Kids Share 2012: A Report on Federal Expenditures on Children Through 2011
The Urban Institute's examination of federal spending on children shows that they have not been a budget priority. In 2011, federal outlays on children fell for the first time since the early 1980s, dropping from $378 billion in 2010 to $376 billion. Over the next decade, outlays on children are projected to decline from 10 to 8 percent of the federal budget.
Pursuing the American Dream: Economic Mobility Across Generations
This new report from the Pew Economic Mobility Project uses the most current data to measure mobility by family income, wealth and personal earnings to reveal how closely tied a person’s place on the economic ladder is to that of his or her parents’. While a majority of Americans exceed their parents’ family income and wealth, the extent of their absolute mobility gains are not always enough to move them to a different rung of the economic ladder.
Do Schools Challenge Our Students?
Despite the image of the nation’s teenagers drowning in schoolwork, complaining they are working the hours of a corporate lawyer, the opposite may be true. This new report from The Center for American Progress examines a federal survey of students in elementary and high schools around the country and found that many students are not being challenged enough in school.
No End in Sight? – The Long-Term Youth Jobs Gap And What It Means For America
Just how many youth jobs were lost during the Great Recession? A new study from Young Invincibles estimates the number to be 2.7 million, which is roughly equivalent to the population of Chicago. The report finds that even under optimistic assumptions, young Americans will not make up the lost ground before 2021 and there is a real chance the youth labor market may never recover.
Good news and bad news for children highlight the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s latest annual survey, always a must-read for child advocates. In general, children experienced gains in education and health indicators but suffered setbacks in the areas of economic well-being and family and community support. The report is strong on details and breaks down data state by state.
AMERICA’S CHILDREN: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2012
Another report with mixed indicators for kids, this one from the federal government's Forum on Children and Family Statistics. It found improvements in the infant mortality rate, the pre-term birth rate, the adolescent birth rate and average math scores for 4th and 8th grade students. Also, the violent crime victimization rate among youth fell, as did the percentage of young children living in a home where someone smoked, However, the percentage of children living in poverty increased, and the percentage of children with at least one parent employed full time, year-round decreased.
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