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This Kids Count Data book details trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The statistical portrait is based on 23 indicators in the areas of demographics, security, health, education, and safety. This year's new format presents the data at the county and town levels, covering 169 municipalities and 8 counties. The data book begins with an essay, "The Tale of Two Connecticuts," spotlighting inequities among the state's children and families, followed by an index of Connecticut towns and a map of towns and counties. The data are then presented for the 23 indicators: (1) children living in poverty; (2) children living in neighborhoods with 20 percent or more below poverty level; (3) youths not in school or working; (4) children speaking a language other than English at home; (5) children living with one or more parents; (6) race of children under age 18; (7) children under age 18 of Hispanic ethnicity; (8) demographic data by county and town; (9) Connecticut population; (10) children receiving Temporary Family Assistance (TFA); (11) eligibility for free or reduced price school meals; (12) births to teen mothers; (13) low birth weight births; (14) infant mortality; (15) late or no prenatal care; (16) preschool experience; (17) meeting Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) Goal; (18) meeting Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) Goal; (19) annual high school dropout rate; (20) child care subsidies (infant/toddler, preschool, school-age); (21) substantiated allegations of child abuse/neglect; (22) child deaths; and (23) preventable teen deaths. (HTH)

This Kids Count Data Book provides state and regional trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The statistical portrait is based on 19 indicators of well-being: (1) children in families receiving welfare; (2) children receiving free or reduced-price meals; (3) high school employment; (4) births to teen mothers; (5) low birth weight; (6) infant mortality; (7) late or no prenatal care; (8) adequacy of prenatal care; (9) physical fitness tests; (10) preschool experience; (11) meeting Connecticut Mastery Test Goal; (12) below Connecticut Mastery Test Basic Level; (13) meeting Connecticut Academic Performance Test goal; (14) below Connecticut Academic Performance Test Basic Level; (15) high school dropouts; (16) child abuse or neglect; (17) child deaths; (18) preventable teen deaths; and (19) juvenile violent crime arrests. The report begins with an overview noting the importance of economic stability in children's welfare and highlights three special topics of concern: oral health, high school dropout rates, and child care. The next four sections describe the 27 regional assignments, for reporting purposes, of towns, school districts, and geographic areas. Following demographic data, the report presents regional trends in the child well-being indicators in chapters addressing security, health, education, and safety. The report ends with regional profiles of population estimates by town, and charts of child well-being indicators by region and in comparison to the state as a whole. (SD)

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The report first examines how well children have faired during the past 100 years in terms of economics, education, health and safety, and race relations, and how they are doing at the start of the 21st century. This section also outlines the state's objectives or vision for children and the underlying principles of this vision. Following demographic information, the bulk of the report provides a statistical portrait of Connecticut's children based on 17 indicators of well-being: (1) family setting; (2) children in families receiving welfare benefits; (3) children receiving free or reduced-price school meals; (4) high school employment; (5) births to teen mothers; (6) low birthweight; (7) infant mortality; (8) late or no prenatal care; (9) physical fitness tests; (10) preschool experience; (11) performance on Connecticut Mastery Test; (12) performance on Connecticut Academic Performance Test; (13) high school dropout rates; (14) child abuse/neglect; (15) child deaths; (16) preventable teen deaths; and (17) juvenile violent crime arrests. Among the findings, the report indicates that the number of families receiving welfare benefits has decreased; the number of high school students working in excess of 16 hours per week has increased; births to teen mothers have decreased but the number still remains large; infant mortality has decreased as has the problem of late or no prenatal care; and the rate of high school dropouts has improved, as have child abuse/neglect rates. The number of juvenile violent crime arrests has increased. The remaining section of the report provides the child well-being information organized by region rather than indicator. Data sources and notes and a description of the methodology conclude the report. (HTH)

This Kids Count data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. The report first examines the extent of child poverty in Connecticut, as well as its causes and effects, and suggests some possible courses of action. Following demographic information, the bulk of the report provides a statistical portrait of Connecticut's children based on 14 indicators of well-being: (1) children living in poverty; (2) family setting; (3) children in families receiving welfare benefits; (4) children receiving free or reduced-price meals; (5) low birthweight; (6) infant mortality; (7) prenatal care; (8) births to teen mothers; (9) performance on Connecticut Mastery Test; (10) performance on Connecticut Academic Performance Test; (11) high school dropout rate; (12) juvenile violent crime arrests; (13) child abuse; and (14) teen deaths. Among the findings, the report indicates that increasing numbers of children are living in poverty; the number of children in families receiving welfare benefits has declined; the low birthweight rate has increased; and test performance has improved, as has the dropout rate. Percent of births to teen mothers has remained static. The final portion of the report presents the child well-being information organized by region rather than indicator. An explanation of terms and methodology concludes the report. (HTH)

This guide is designed to help teachers educate students to be healthier now and in the future. It presents fun, learner-centered activities about nutrition, food, hunger, and food sources. It offers an overview of each section of the Kids Food CyberClub web site, and classroom activities teachers can use to expand on information students will learn by participating in the Web site activities. The guide is organized in a logical sequence, but students should access the sections of the web site in the order they choose. Students are taught lifestyle habits to help them maintain their health and lead a full life. Activities on the web site and corresponding classroom activities develop skills in many subject areas beyond health and nutrition. The guide includes descriptions of each web site section and suggested classroom activities related to the section. Topics include: Finding Your Way on the Kids Food CyberClub Web site; Foods Keep Us Well; USDA Food Guide Pyramid; Rate Your Plate; Choices, Choices, Choices; Grow It Yourself; Books I Love To Read; Your Recipes, Please; Hunger in Our Land; Food Advertising; and Food Facts. Two appendixes offer worksheets for classroom activities and nutrition information for teachers. (SM)

This KIDS COUNT data book examines statewide trends in the well-being of Connecticut's children. After listing the regional population, racial/ethnic background, poverty status, and family setting of Connecticut's children, the statistical report examines 13 indicators of well-being: (1) percentage of children receiving welfare benefits; (2) low birth weight per 1,000 births; (3) infant mortality rate; (4) percentage of births with late or no prenatal care; (5) percentage of all births to teen mothers; (6) child death rate; (7) percentage of students meeting Connecticut Mastery Test goals; (8) percentage of tenth graders well below the Connecticut Academic Performance Test standard; (9) percentage of all students grades 9-12 who are high school dropouts; (10) juvenile violent crime arrest rate; (11) child abuse/neglect rates; (12) teen death rate; and (13) child poverty. Section 1 of the report summarizes recent brain development research and the ways development is hindered or helped by the environment. Sections 2 and 3 present child well-being indicators, organized by indicator and region, respectively. The document concludes with an explanation of terms and methodology. Findings indicate that about 19 percent of children live in poverty. In the last 10 years, there has been a slight worsening of the low birth weight rate, improvements in infant mortality, an increase in the percentage of mothers receiving prenatal care, and a decrease in the percentage of all births to teenage mothers. In 1995-96, 30 percent of sixth graders met state goals on the Connecticut Mastery Test. The dropout rate improved slightly during the past 5 years. The juvenile violent crime arrest rate per 100,000 increased from 1991-92 to 1995-96. (Contains 22 references.) (KB)

This 1996 update to "Connecticut's Children: Still at Risk" is the third annual report examining how children in the state are faring. The title of the report indicates that Connecticut's children are at tremendous risk of failing to become productive adults, and policy decisions in the past year give rise to concern that the situation will be exacerbated. As an update, the report does not repeat much of the general information from 1994's comprehensive look; instead, the update focuses on 14 measures of child well-being and two demographic measures, including poverty, family setting, birthweight, infant mortality, dropouts, child and teen deaths, child abuse referrals, and juvenile violent crime arrests. Each indicator is first presented as a separate table, comparing different cities and regions of the state. Regions with rates worse than the state-wide rate are highlighted. Indexes to the towns and regions, and a map of these regions, are included at the beginning of the section. The same information is then presented again, organized by region instead of by indicator. Where possible, the rate for the region is shown as a percentage better or worse than the state-wide rate. An explanation of terms and methodology used in both sections appears at the back of the report. (EV)

This 1995 update to "Connecticut's Children: Still at Risk" is the second annual report examining how children in the state are faring. The title indicates that Connecticut's children are at tremendous risk of failing to become productive adults. The update does not repeat much of the general information from the previous year's comprehensive look; instead, the update focuses on 16 measures of child well-being, including poverty, family setting, birthweight, infant mortality, dropouts, child and teen deaths, child abuse referrals, and juvenile violent crime arrests. Four new indicators are included this year: (1) percentage of children who receive AFDC benefits; (2) percentage of babies born with late or no prenatal care; (3) percentage of eighth and (4) tenth graders who report having used tobacco or alcohol in the past 30 days. Each indicator is first presented as a separate table, comparing different cities and regions of the state. Regions with rates worse than the state-wide rate are highlighted. Indexes to the towns and regions, and a map of these regions, are included at the beginning of the section. The same information is then presented again, organized by region instead of by indicator. Where possible, the rate for the region is shown as a percentage better or worse than the state-wide rate. An explanation of terms and methodology used in both sections appears at the back of the report. (EV)

A poll of the attitudes of Connecticut citizens toward children in the state was commissioned by Kids 2000, a project of the Connecticut Association for Human Services, and was conducted by the Institute for Social Inquiry at the University of Connecticut as a telephone interview of 500 randomly selected adult residents. Questions asked covered such topics as trends in children's quality of life, the priority placed by the state on children's programs, willingness to pay more taxes for programs earmarked for children, state provision of child care, and provision of health care for pregnant women and children. All statistics indicated support on the part of the state's citizens for children's programs. The findings of this survey can be reduced to a single sentence: "Connecticut citizens across a broad spectrum are profoundly concerned about children and they are willing to invest more of their own money--through taxes--to help them." (EV)

Recent surveys of Americans reveal that most think children are worse off today than they were 10 years ago. This report on child well-being in Connecticut reveals that such intuitions are correct: in the 10 years since the publication of "Growing Up at Risk in Connecticut," children in the state have become more likely to be victims or perpetrators of violence, less likely to live with two parents, and more likely to become parents themselves. The report has three sections. Part A examines broad issues in the lives of the state's children and covers four areas: economic security, health, education, and emotional well-being. Explored under these headings are topics such as housing, hunger, child care, violence, access to health insurance, and child abuse. Part B looks in more detail at 11 important indicators of child well-being and two demographic measures. Each indicator is detailed in a separate table, comparing different cities and regions of the state. Regions with rates worse than the state-wide rate are highlighted. Indexes to the towns and regions, and a map of these regions, are included at the beginning of this section. Part C of the report provides the same information presented in Part B, but is organized by region instead of indicator. Where possible, the rate for the region is shown as a percentage better or worse than the state-wide rate. An explanation of the methodology used in each section appears with its table of contents. (EV)