Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/BrettVBrown

The report provides a one-stop resource for anyone needing access to state- and local-level estimates of child and youth well-being. Areas covered include health, education, economics and demographics, crime and juvenile justice, and child welfare. Information provided for each source includes an overview of the source content as well as how to access the related publications, surveys, and databases containing the data. Internet addresses for these resources are provided when available. The report focuses on federal sources, though a few nonfederal sources are also covered.

Trends in youth attitudes in three areas relevant to welfare reform - family formation and parenting, work and preparation for work, and community service - show modest evidence at best of change that might reflect the effects of the welfare reform legislation. Data analyzed come from the Monitoring the Future survey for 1985 through 1999. Among the trends: the acceptability of cohabitation increased steadily and substantially. Trends in attitudes about the importance of fatherhood and on the effects of maternal employment on the well-being of pre-school children may bode well for welfare reform. Many of the attitudes and values that welfare reform seeks to encourage in our society already run particularly strong in the African-American community.

Data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families indicates that poor children, children whose families received AFDC in 1996, children whose parents were unemployed, or children living in single-parent households are more likely to experience behavioral and emotional problems, fair or poor health, and school problems than are other children in the United States. Child well-being varied across states but the variation in well-being was less than the variation in poverty, welfare receipt, and single parenthood.

This Snapshot presents findings on several parent-reported measures of child well-being from the 1999 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) and compares these findings with data reported from the 1997 NSAF. These data are available for representative samples of the United States as well as for 13 states. Findings are discussed separately for adolescents and for younger children. In addition, this Snapshot compares the status of low-income children--those living in families with incomes below 200 percent of poverty in 1998--with that of higher-income children, whose family incomes exceeded 200 percent of poverty.

Children's future economic status and productivity in the workforce are determined in part by their performance in school. Research has shown that children and adolescents who are highly engaged in school perform better in terms of test scores, attendance, and advancement from grade to grade. Studies also indicate that low-income children are less successful in school than children from families with higher incomes.

Developmental psychologists have long noted that parents serve as role models, shaping the behaviors and habits of their children. Children whose parents act as strong positive models may be more likely to withstand harmful pressures from peer groups. One way parents act as role models is by demonstrating citizenship through volunteer work. Another way is by participating in religious activities, which may enhance the importance of moral and spiritual values in their children's lives.

High stress and aggravation in parents are associated with poor cognitive and socioemotional development of young children. In addition, maternal emotional distress has been linked to less responsive, even hostile, parenting practices. Mandated employment, time limits on benefits, shifts in child care arrangements, and fluctuations in income are some of the challenges facing low-income parents under welfare reform.

A child's well-being depends in part upon the mental health of his or her parents. If a parent's mental health is compromised, he or she may be less able to nurture, love, care for, and pay attention to the child. Several studies indicate that single mothers on welfare with young children are at considerable risk of exhibiting symptoms of depression. Parents with such symptoms provide less emotional support and tend to employ harsh disciplinary practices. Further, children of depressed parents exhibit more behavioral problems, frequently display deficits in social and academic competence, and are in poorer physical health than children of nondepressed parents.

States' ability to plan and implement programs that serve children and families depends in part on reliable data, yet gathering these data is an expensive proposition. This brief reviews efforts by the federal government to provide state- and local-level data on children, outlines possible future directions for data gathering activities, and identifies factors that may limit or reverse progress in data collection.

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