By Jessica Hathaway

So, how are the kids doing?

Wait, before you grab your iPhone (or Android—or maybe even some actual photos—no judgment here!) to whip out the latest photos, it actually isn’t a small talk kind of question.

Rather, it’s one that researchers at the Annie E. Casey Foundation take seriously and explored with more than 60 participants at the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Breakfast at the 2016 NCSL Legislative Summit.

At this annual breakfast, Lisa Hamilton, vice president of external affairs with the Annie E Casey Foundation, spoke to session attendees about the state of children across the nation using information generated by the Kids Count Data Center.

Using more than 4 million data points, the Kids Count Data Book, released each year since 1990 by the foundation, provides an in-depth look at how well children in the 50  states and territories are faring in four major domains: economic well-being, education, health and family, and community. It also ranks states on overall child well-being based on these indicators to help lawmakers and others better understand how children in their state are doing.

Legislators may be critical of state rankings. The Kids Count Data Book, however, is the leading tool used by policymakers and practitioners to measure child well-being across the country. The goal is to think about our world from a child’s perspective—especially how improving the well-being of children can translate to positive results down the road.

This year’s data focus on how children of Generation Z (born after 1995) are doing in the six years post-recession (2008-2014). Generation Z is the most diverse yet—in 12 states, children of color make up the majority of children—and the challenges facing them are unique to their generation.

The good news is that today’s teenagers are doing better in school and are healthier. Nationally, more teens are completing high school on time, teen birth rates have fallen 40 percent since 2008, and drug and alcohol abuse has dropped 38 percent. The less than good news is that more children are living in poverty despite economic gains across the nation. 

If you weren’t able to make this session, you can find Lisa Hamilton’s presentation online here and the Kids Count Data Book online here. You can also look at this information in the Kids Count Data Center, an online platform that houses the data in the report.

Using the report and online data center, you can download a customized report for your state, explore trends in child well-being and take a look at policies and practices that have benefited children and families across the country.

Jessica Hathaway is a policy associate with NCSL’s Family Opportunity Project.

Email Jessica