2013 KIDS COUNT Data Book: 2013 State Trends in Child Well-Being

The KIDS COUNT Data Book is an annual publication that assesses child well-being nationally and across the 50 states. The 2013 report calculates a composite index of overall child well-being for each state derived from 16 key indicators grouped into four domains that capture what children need to thrive: (1) economic well-being, (2) education, (3) health, and (4) family and community. For 2013, the three highest-ranked states for child well-being were New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts; the three lowest ranked were Nevada, Mississippi and New Mexico. The report also provides national trends, comparing recent data with data from mid-decade. The findings indicate that child health and education improved despite the recession, but economic and family/community well-being declined, with an increase in child poverty, insecure employment among parents and more children and families living in high-poverty neighborhoods