On April 17, important empirical data was released indicating that the overall quality of life for American children has failed to improve for the third consecutive year; and on average, children are doing only slightly better than they did 30 years ago. The annual release of the Child Well-Being Index (CWI), a research-based look at the status of children in the United States, showed that the trends since the year 2002 have continued – stagnated growth and only a 1.14 increase in the CWI from 1975, its base year.

Moreover, the CWI has shown that children’s health continues to plummet, falling to its lowest point ever reflected by recorded data. Further declination has been predicted for 2006. The report cites childhood obesity as the main cause, with the number of obese children growing at a pace that has negated improvements in other areas of childhood health. The report also notes that the decline in mortality rates for infants, youth, and children has slowed significantly over the past three years.

On a positive note, the report indicates that children are safer and are engaging in less risky behavior than ever before. Teen pregnancy, violent crime, drinking and drug use have continued to decline, and with continuing improvement in the participation of children and young adults in educational, economic, and political institutions. Overall, this has led to an increase in the percentage of young adults who receive college degrees between the ages of 25-29, as well as the percentage of children aged 3-4 attending pre kindergarten.

Analysis:

Generally, the CWI shows that when it comes to children, America has nothing to brag about. From the years 1995-2002, the quality of children’s life improved substantially, largely due to the introduction of pro-child initiatives such as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); the expansion of state Medicaid programs to include children and low-income working parents; the expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); the Child Tax Credit; and the enactment of Healthy Start legislation.

Clearly, these programs contributed to the steady increases in the well-being of our children throughout the 1990s and into the year 2000. To address the stagnation, it is critical that Congress reauthorize and fully fund SCHIP and Healthy Start, while keeping Medicare strong. Full funding will allow these programs to reach more children across the nation who are in need of health insurance. Congress must also expand the Child Credit’s refundability and simplify the EITC, as Congress’ own Joint Economic Committee has cited its complexity as a reason that as many as 25% of eligible Americans do not claim the credit. Resources for education, outreach, and enrollment efforts for all of these successful programs must also be provided.

Further, as the report highlights the very serious problem of childhood obesity, Congress and the White House must be proactive in attempts to combat this new crisis. The government must invest in critically important research on childhood obesity and best practices to prevent it. Further, Congress should restore funding to the Centers for Disease Control and programs like VERB, which have proven effective in helping to reduce childhood obesity.

While the report shows a continued increase in “community connectedness,” the federal government can do more. Passing Senator Kennedy’s Keeping Parents and Communities Engaged Act (PACE) will help parents to play an active role in their children’s education and improving support services for students; important tools in the fight to keep kids in school.

Conclusion

A new report by the Urban Institute entitled Kids Share 2007: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget shows that the share of domestic spending on children has fallen nearly 23% since 1960 and will continue to drop if current trends continue. Funded by First Focus with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the report projects that children will receive less than 6 percent of new domestic spending over the next decade.

Currently, two out of three children are not receiving enough of the developmental resources they need to be successful in life. There are 9 million children in this nation without health insurance, nearly 29 million living in low-income families, and 25 to 30 percent not graduating from high school. Infant mortality has risen for the first time in 45 years, and the United States ranks 20th out of 21 countries in a recent report by UNICEF on various indicators of children’s well-being. The correlations between these numbers and those in the CWI are more than merely coincidental.

Making children more of a priority in the federal budget is a necessary step to end the stagnation of our children’s quality of life. America must do more to address this impending crisis.

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The CWI is commissioned by the Foundation for Child Development and provides policymakers and the public with a tool to monitor the well-being of children nationwide. Duke University researcher Dr. Kenneth Land coordinated the project.