The Well Being of American Children in 2011

The 15th annual report on the well being of America's children from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) contains some good, some bad and what Dr. Edward Sondik, Ph.D., director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics called "some significant changes in several key areas," in a Forum press release.

The Good News Briefly: The report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011, reveals that for the second straight year, the teen and pre-teen birth rate decreased, preterm births declined for a third straight year, fewer children died from injuries and fewer high school seniors took part in binge drinking. The prevalence of smoking among 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students has declined as much as 50% since hitting a peak in 1996 and 1997.

"It is reassuring to see continued declines in the preterm birth rate and adolescent birth rate," said Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in a press release.

The Not-So-Good News: On the downside, the Forum reported that more 8th graders used illegal drugs, more kids lived in families below the federal poverty level, and fewer kids lived in families with at least one parent working full time year round.

About the Report: With input from 9 of the 15 Cabinet-level federal agencies, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011, is an extensive collection of facts and statistics intended to depict what the Forum calls the "promises and the challenges confronting our Nation's young people." Areas considered in the report include: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.

The 2011 release of the report also features a new section focusing on adoption in the United States.

On Adoption: The report showed that while most adopted children "thrive," their experiences of disrupted parenting tend to affect them beyond adolescence and into adulthood. This is especially true, noted the report for children who are adopted after their first months of infancy. Other highlights on adoption include:

• In 2011, about 2.5% of U.S. children had joined their families through adoption.

• 21.5% of adopted children were adopted by parents of different race.

• About 29% of adopted children suffered from moderate to severe health problems, compared with about 12% of all children.

• Adoption is preferred over other alternatives including long term foster care, group homes and shelters, and orphanages.

Highlights from the report included:

• The birth rate among girls ages 15 to 17 dropped from 21.7 per 1,000 girls in 2008 to 20.1 per 1,000 in 2009.

• The proportion of preterm births - infants born before the 37th week of pregnancy - dropped slightly from 12.3% in 2008 to 12.2% in 2009.

• Injury-related deaths among teens ages 15-19 dropped from 44 per 100,000 in 2008 to 39 per 100,000 in 2009.

• The death rate among infants who died before their first birthday dropped from 6.6 per 1,000 births in 2008 to 6.4 per 1,000 births in 2009.

• The proportion of 12th graders who binge drank - drank five or more alcoholic beverages in a row within the past 2 weejs - dropped from 25% in 2009 to 23% in 2010.

• Mathematics test scores for 8th graders increased by an average of 2 points from 2007 to 2009.

• Average mathematics scores for 12th graders rose by 3 points

• The proportion of 8th graders who reported using illegal drugs in the past 30 day increased from 8% in 2009 to 10% in 2010.

• The percentage of children ages 17 years and under living with at least one parent employed year round full time dropped from 75% in 2008 to 72% in 2009.

• The proportion of children ages 17 years and under living in poverty increased from 19% in 2008 to 21% in 2009.

• The proportion of households with children ages 0-17 reporting one or more of three housing problems: crowded housing, physically inadequate housing, or housing that costs more than 30 percent of household income, from 43% in 2007 to 45% in 2009.

• While the percentage of children reported currently to have asthma did not significantly differ between 2008 and 2009, the report did reveal that the percentage of children with asthma has been steadily increasing between 2001 and 2009.