NSF PR 97-48 - July 2, 1997
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New "Child Indicators" Report Offers Data
to Track Children's Well-Being
The Federal Agency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
released today, in Washington, D.C., a new report
that offers a composite picture of the well-being
of the nation's children.
America's Children: Key National Indicators
of Well-Being, presents 25 key indicators
on critical aspects of children's lives, including
their behavior and social environment, economic security,
education, and health.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is one of eight
agencies contributing to the new report.
"This highly informative report on our nation's children
represents an important new use of statistical information
available from many sources in the federal government,"
says Bennett Bertenthal, a cognitive development psychologist
and head of NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral
and Economic Sciences.
"As researchers, we know that data measuring our children's
lives are like individual stars; only by studying
the stars, or statistics, in relation to each other,
do we begin to see important patterns - a constellation
that is far greater than the sum of its parts," says
Bertenthal. "By combining information on numerous
topics, this report enables us to gain a better perspective
on the whole of our children's lives, and to understand
how each facet is related to the others.
"The value of the report will be realized in future
years, as we monitor these and other indicators to
learn how children's lives are changing with changes
in their environments," Bertenthal says.
The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family
Statistics was founded in 1994 and formally established
by Executive Order 13045 to foster coordination and
collaboration in the collection and reporting of Federal
data on children and families. Statistical agencies
within the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education,
Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development,
Justice, Labor, the National Science Foundation and
the Office of Management and Budget.
For copies of the full report, contact the National
Maternal and Child Health Bureau Clearinghouse, (703)
356-1964, or see the National Center for Health Statistics
home page: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm
Attachment: America's
Children: Data Resources
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