Missouri’s Family and Community Trust (FACT) has released the 2018 Missouri KIDS COUNT Data Book, on April 3, 2018, intended to identify the needs of children and families throughout the state. 

Aligning with the national KIDS COUNT domains of economic well-being, health, family and community, and education, Missouri KIDS COUNT uses outcome measures and contextual indicators to rank Missouri counties. Counties then use that information to find and address needs in their communities.

Outcome measures include things like children under 18 in poverty, the high school graduation rate, and births to moms without a high school diploma – all strong predicators for the relationship between childhood experiences and adult outcomes. Many of these indicators can be impacted by policy change. With contextual indicators, Missouri KIDS COUNT is looking at population characteristics related to our state’s children. This can be adult unemployment, median family household income, and health insurance coverage rates. The indicators give context to help understand the outcome measures.

“More than two decades of Missouri KIDS COUNT annual snapshots lets us track on trends impacting how our kids are doing across policy initiatives, the evolution of direct service interventions, and shifts in Missouri’s political and economic culture,” said Tracy Greever-Rice, Missouri KIDS COUNT Program Director.

The following three takeaways appear to be evident in this year’s data:

• According to the figures, Missouri’s children’s lives have improved, with 9 of 10 state-wide outcome indicators showing improvement in 2016 versus 2012.
• The gains for Missouri’s children aren’t always equally distributed. Where children live and the quality of resources in their local communities have an impact on their wellbeing. Children in Missouri’s most rural and most urban communities continue to face the greatest challenges.
• Missouri’s non-white children, while improving consistently with white children, continue, as a sub-population, to face challenges grounded in exposure to persistent income inequality and low-resource neighborhoods and communities.

“The release of Missouri KIDS COUNT indicators provides a yearly opportunity for policymakers and service providers to step back from their day-in/day-out work and apply an external and evidenced-base lens to the well-being of children,” stated Bill Dent, Executive Director, Family and Community Trust.

This year’s Data Book release marks the final year that the book will be available in hard copy. Moving forward the data will be available online and through the new Missouri KIDS COUNT App which will be available for download for both iOS and Android. This transition is part of an effort to release relevant and important data as soon as it becomes available.     

“The Missouri KIDS COUNT app will facilitate the use of indicators in the public arena, in policymaking, and in the field. FACT is committed to investing in the technology to keep Missouri KIDS COUNT relevant and accessible to all Missourians,” said Dent.

This is the Family and Community Trust’s (FACT) fifth year serving as Missouri’s KIDS COUNT affiliate. FACT is the state level, private/public organization that governs a network of 20 Community Partnerships focused on achieving better results for children and families. ARCHS serves as the Greater St. Louis area's community partnership and local KIDS COUNT representative. FACT’s KIDS COUNT initiative focuses on child well-being in Missouri. To read data informed stories and access specific data and information about the well-being of children in our state visit mokidscount.org.