America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012
America's Children at a Glance
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| Previous Value (Year) | Most Recent Value (Year) | Change Between Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Demographic Background |
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| Child population1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in the United States | 74.1 million (2010) | 73.9 million (2011) |  |
| Children as a percentage of the population1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in the United States | 24.0% (2010) | 23.7%(2011) | |
| Racial and ethnic composition1 | |||
| Children ages 0–17 by race and Hispanic origin | |||
| White, non-Hispanic | 53.6% (2010) | 53.2% (2011) | |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 14.1% (2010) | 14.0% (2011) | |
| American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic | 0.9% (2010) | 0.9% (2011) | NS |
| Asian, non-Hispanic | 4.4% (2010) | 4.4% (2011) | NS |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic | 0.2% (2010) | 0.2% (2011) | NS |
| Two or more races, non-Hispanic | 3.7% (2010) | 3.8% (2011) |  |
| Hispanic | 23.2% (2010) | 23.6% (2011) | |
 Family and Social Environment |
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| Family structure and children's living arrangements | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with two married parents | 66% (2010) | 65% (2011) | NS |
| Births to unmarried women | |||
| Births to unmarried women ages 15–44 | 50 per 1,000 (2009) | 48 per 1,000 (2010) | |
| Births that are to unmarried women among all births | 41.0% (2009) | 40.8% (2010) | |
| Child care | |||
| Children ages 0–4, with employed mothers, whose primary child care arrangement is with a relative | 48% (2005) | 48% (2010) | NS |
| Children ages 3–6, not yet in kindergarten, who were in center-based care arrangements | 57% (2005) | 55% (2007) | NS |
| Children of at least one foreign-born parent | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with at least one foreign-born parent | 23% (2010) | 23% (2011) | NS |
| Language spoken at home and difficulty speaking English | |||
| Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home | 21% (2009) | 22% (2010) | |
| Children ages 5–17 who speak a language other than English at home and who have difficulty speaking English | 5% (2009) | 5% (2010) | NS |
| Adolescent births | |||
| Births to females ages 15–17 | 20 per 1,000 (2009) | 17 per 1,000 (2010) | |
| Child maltreatment2 | |||
| Substantiated reports of maltreatment of children ages 0–17 | 10.1 per 1,000 (2009) | 10.0 per 1,000 (2010) | |
| Economic Circumstances |
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| Child poverty and family income | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in poverty | 21% (2009) | 22% (2010) | |
| Secure parental employment | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living with at least one parent employed year round, full time | 72% (2009) | 71% (2010) | |
| Food security | |||
| Children ages 0–17 in households classified by USDA as "food insecure" | 23% (2009) | 22% (2010) | |
| Health Care |
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| Health insurance coverage | |||
| Children ages 0–17 covered by health insurance at some time during the year | 90% (2009) | 90% (2010) | NS |
| Usual source of health care | |||
| Children ages 0–17 with no usual source of health care | 6% (2009) | 5% (2010) | NS |
| Immunization | |||
| Children ages 19–35 months with the 4:3:1:3:3:1 combined series | 70% (2009) | 75%3 (2010) | |
| Oral health | |||
| Children ages 5–17 with a dental visit in the past year | 84% (2009) | 85% (2010) | NS |
| Physical Environment and Safety |
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| Outdoor air quality | |||
| Children ages 0–17 living in counties with pollutant concentrations above the levels of the current air quality standards | 59% (2009) | 67% (2010) | |
| Environmental tobacco smoke | |||
| Children ages 4–11 with any detectable blood cotinine level, a measure for recent exposure to secondhand smoke | 53% (2007–08) | 42% (2009–10) | |
| Drinking water quality | |||
| Children served by community water systems that did not meet all applicable health-based drinking water standards | 7% (2009) | 7% (2010) | NS |
| Lead in the blood of children | |||
| Children ages 1–5 with blood lead greater than or equal to 10 µg/dL | 0.9%4 (2003–2006) | ***5 (2007–2010) | NC |
| Children ages 1–5 with blood lead greater than or equal to 5 µg/dL | 4% (2003–2006) | 3% (2007–2010) | NS |
| Housing problems | |||
| Households with children ages 0–17 reporting shelter cost burden, crowding, and/or physically inadequate housing | 43% (2007) | 45% (2009) | |
| Youth victims of serious violent crimes | |||
| Serious violent crime victimization of youth ages 12–17 | 11 per 1,000 (2009) | 7 per 1,000 (2010) | |
| Child injury and mortality | |||
| Injury deaths of children ages 1–4 | 12 per 100,000 (2008) | 12 per 100,000 (2009) | NS |
| Injury deaths of children ages 5–14 | 6.1 per 100,000 (2008) | 5.7 per 100,000 (2009) | |
| Adolescent injury and mortality | |||
| Injury deaths of adolescents ages 15–19 | 42 per 100,000 (2008) | 39 per 100,000 (2009) | |
| Behavior |
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| Regular cigarette smoking | |||
| Students who reported smoking daily in the past 30 days | |||
| 8th grade | 3% (2010) | 2% (2011) | NS |
| 10th grade | 7% (2010) | 6% (2011) | NS |
| 12th grade | 11% (2010) | 10% (2011) | NS |
| Alcohol use | |||
| Students who reported having 5 or more alcoholic beverages in a row in the past 2 weeks | |||
| 8th grade | 7% (2010) | 6% (2011) | NS |
| 10th grade | 16% (2010) | 15% (2011) | |
| 12th grade | 23% (2010) | 22% (2011) | NS |
| Illicit drug use | |||
| Students who reported using illicit drugs in the past 30 days | |||
| 8th grade | 10% (2010) | 9% (2011) | NS |
| 10th grade | 19% (2010) | 19% (2011) | NS |
| 12th grade | 24% (2010) | 25% (2011) | NS |
| Sexual activity | |||
| High school students who reported ever having had sexual intercourse | 48% (2007) | 46% (2009) | NS |
| Youth perpetrators of serious violent crimes | |||
| Youth offenders ages 12–17 involved in serious violent crimes | 11 per 1,000 (2009) | 9 per 1,000 (2010) | NS |
| Education |
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| Family reading to young children | |||
| Children ages 3–5 who were read to every day in the last week by a family member | 60% (2005) | 55% (2007) | |
| Mathematics and reading achievement | |||
| Average mathematics scale score of | |||
| 4th-graders (0–500 scale) | 240 (2009) | 241 (2011) | |
| 8th-graders (0–500 scale) | 283 (2009) | 284 (2011) | |
| 12th-graders (0–300 scale) | 150 (2005) | 153 (2009) | |
| Average reading scale score of | |||
| 4th-graders (0–500 scale) | 221 (2009) | 221 (2011) | NS |
| 8th-graders (0–500 scale) | 264 (2009) | 265 (2011) | |
| 12th-graders (0–500 scale) | 286 (2005) | 288 (2009) | |
| High school academic coursetaking | |||
| High school graduates who completed selected mathematics and science courses | |||
| Algebra II | 70% (2005) | 76% (2009) | |
| Biology and chemistry | 64% (2005) | 68% (2009) | |
| Analysis/precalculus | 29% (2005) | 35% (2009) | |
| Biology, chemistry, and physics | 27% (2005) | 30% (2009) | |
| High school completion | |||
| Young adults ages 18–24 who have completed high school | 90% (2009) | 90% (2010) | NS |
| Youth neither enrolled in school6 nor working | |||
| Youth ages 16–19 who are neither enrolled in school nor working | 9% (2010) | 8% (2011) | |
| College enrollment | |||
| Recent high school completers enrolled in college the October immediately after completing high school | 70% (2009) | 68% (2010) | NS |
| Health |
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| Preterm birth and low birthweight | |||
| Infants less than 37 weeks of gestation at birth | 12.2% (2009) | 12.0% (2010) | |
| Infants weighing less than 5 lb. 8 oz. at birth | 8.2% (2009) | 8.1% (2010) | NS |
| Infant mortality | |||
| Deaths before first birthday | 6.4 per 1,000 (2009) | 6.4 per 1,000 (2010) | |
| Emotional and behavioral difficulties | |||
| Children ages 4–17 reported by a parent to have serious difficulties with emotions, concentration, behavior, or getting along with other people | 5% (2009) | 6% (2010) | NS |
| Adolescent depression | |||
| Youth ages 12–17 with past year Major Depressive Episode | 8% (2009) | 8% (2010) | NS |
| Activity limitation | |||
| Children ages 5–17 with activity limitation resulting from one or more chronic health conditions | 9% (2009) | 9% (2010) | NS |
| Diet quality | |||
| Average diet scores for children ages 2–17, expressed as a percentage of Federal diet quality standards | 56% (2003–2004) | 59% (2007–2008) | NS |
| Obesity | |||
| Children ages 6–17 who are obese | 19% (2007–2008) | 18% (2009–2010) | NS |
| Asthma | |||
| Children ages 0–17 who currently have asthma | 9.6% (2009) | 9.4% (2010) | NS |
| — Not available N/A – Not applicable NS – No statistically significant change –Statistically significant increase – Statistically significant decrease NC – Not Calculated |
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| 1 Population estimates are not sample derived and are not subject to statistical testing. Change between years identifies differences in the proportionate size of these estimates as rounded. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. | |||
| 2 Population estimates are not sample derived and thus not subject to statistical testing. Change between years identifies a difference in the proportionate size of these estimates. | |||
| 3 Coverage with the full Hib vaccine series increased in 2010, suggesting that children received a booster as supplies became adequate starting in July 2009. | |||
| 4 Estimate is considered unstable (relative standard error is greater than 30 percent but less than 40 percent of the estimate). | |||
| 5 Percentage not shown. Estimate is considered unreliable (relative standard error is greater than 40 percent of the estimate). | |||
| 6 School refers to high school and college. | |||