Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: 15th Annual Fact Book 2008

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Abstract

The 15th annual Fact Book is a comprehensive data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. Over 50 data indicators are tracked over time. This publication provides a broad perspective on the status of children and youth in the District. We seek to inform and educate our readers about the issues affecting children and their families in the District. We encourage community residents, policy makers, professionals, and others who work with and/or on behalf of children and families to create conditions that foster the optimal health and development of our children.

Introduction

This is the 15th edition of the KIDS COUNT Annual Fact Book for the District of Columbia. The Fact Book brings together a variety of indicators describing the well-being of the District’s children and their families. We update existing indicators each year and add new indicators as they become available. For instance, this year’s Fact Book presents a new positive indicator, participation in D.C.’s youth summer employment program.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation provides funding to all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia to produce annual statelevel KIDS COUNT reports. In addition, the Foundation publishes a national-level report every year describing the wellbeing of children across the United States.

This year’s Fact Book is organized to reflect the six citywide Interagency Collaboration and Service Integration Commission (ICSIC) goals for children and youth in the District of Columbia. ICSIC uses data to track how agencies are serving at-risk children, sharing resources to create cross-agency programs, and evaluating agency results.

This Fact Book begins with a Report Card, which provides an easy-to-read summary of how the District compares to last year on selected indicators of child wellbeing. The Report Card shows whether each indicator changed for the better, became worse, or remained the same compared to the previous year’s report. Some new indicators were added or revised for this year’s report, however, and may not be comparable to previous years.

Of the 49 indicators in this year’s Report Card, 20 changed for the better, 19 changed for the worse, and 10 indicators did not change at all. Few indicators improved this year as compared to the 2007 Report Card where 27 indicators improved, 10 indicators changed for the worse, and 10 indicators did not change at all.

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