The New KIDS COUNT Index

Fine Tuning the Tool

The initial index lumped 10 different measures together and focused heavily on health and mortality. In comparison, today’s KIDS COUNT index evaluates 16 measures divided equally among four domains. These areas are: health and community, education, economic well-being and health.

One Key Change

The Foundation believes that kids do best when they live in healthy, supportive families and that these families need supportive communities to thrive. The new KIDS COUNT index reflects this belief by painting a fuller picture of how these factors play out in children’s lives.

Distinguishing Detail

Other national projects track child welfare, but the KIDS COUNT index stands apart in that it drills the data down to state-level scores.

Nitty-Gritty Number Crunching

Data lovers can dive into the details and see how experts calculated standard scores for each index measure (equation included!). They can also learn how the experts used these scores to create domain-specific index values for each state.

Teamwork at Work

Revamping the KIDS COUNT index wasn’t a solo effort. The Foundation partnered with the Population Reference Bureau and eight other child welfare organizations to ensure that the new tool was rooted in solid science and smart logic, yet simple enough to sustain at the state level.