America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2005

This report provides the Nation with a summary of national indicators of child well-being and monitors changes in these indicators over time. In addition to providing data in an easy-to-use, non-technical format, the purpose of the report is to stimulate discussions among policymakers and the public, exchanges between data providers and policy communities, and improvements in Federal data on children and families. The first part of the report, Population and Family Characteristics, presents data that illustrate the changes during the past few decades in nine measures depicting the context of children's lives. These background measures provide basic information about children in the United States and the social and demographic changes occurring in the child population. The second part of the report, Indicators of Children's Well-Being, contains data on four key areas of child well-being: economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. The following are appended: (1) Detailed Tables; and (2) Data Source Descriptions. (Contains 123 figures and 139 endnotes.)