Examining the Critical Issues for Children and Families in North Dakota

1
Examining the Critical Issues for Children and
Families in North Dakota

• Helen Danielson, Coordinator North Dakota KIDS
  COUNT!
  
• October 14, 2003 Fargo, ND

2
Overview

• Background
• Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS
  COUNT!
  
• Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
• Overview of North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Website and
  Fact Book
  
• Six Indicators
• Rural Initiatives
• Conclusion

3
CHILDREN do better when their families are
STRONGAnd families do better when they live in
communitiesthat help them to SUCCEED.
Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS
COUNT!
4
Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS
COUNT!

• The North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Fact Book is
  available online at www.ndkidscount.org.

5
Annie E. Casey Foundation and the national KIDS
COUNT program

• The national KIDS COUNT Data Book is available
  online at www.aecf.org.
  
• North Dakota ranks 7th in overall child
  well-being!

6
Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS
COUNT!

• Three premises are essential to successful family
  outcomes
  
• Creating the opportunity to earn a decent living
  and building assets.
  
• Building close ties with family, neighbors, kin,
  faith communities, and civic groups.
  
• Having reliable services close to home.

7
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota

• Currently, North Dakota KIDS COUNT! collects and
  reports county-specific data for six indicators.
  
• In addition, trend-line data at the state,
  regional, and county level are available.

8
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota

• The North Dakota KIDS COUNT! web page and 2003
  Fact Book are organized into the following six
  themes
  
• Population
• Family Composition
• Economic Condition
• Child Care
• Education
• Children At-Risk

9
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Population
Children are all foreigners -Ralph Waldo Emer
son
(1803-1882)
10
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Population
Urban and Rural Population Distribution in North
Dakota 1900 to 2000
11
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Family Composition
A family is a unit composed not only of children
but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the
common cold.
-Ogden Nash (1902 - 1971)
12
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Family Composition
Percent of Women With Children Ages 0 to 17 Who
Are in the Labor Force 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000
13
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Economic Condition
North Dakota continues to have one of the
highest multiple job holding rates in the nation.
14
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Economic Condition

• North Dakota continues to have one of the highest
  multiple job holding rates in the nation.
  
• Indicators of economic condition as reported by
  North Dakota KIDS COUNT! include, but are not
  limited to

• Children living in poverty
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  and Medicaid recipients
  
• Free and reduced price lunches
• Eligible food stamp recipients
• Median family income
• WIC Program participants (Women, Infants, and
  Children)

15
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Child Care
The greatness of the human personality begins at
the hour of birth. From this almost mystic
affirmation there comes what may seem a strange
conclusion that education must start from
birth. -Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)
16
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Child Care
Licensed Child Care Capacity as a Percent of
Children Ages 0 to 13 in North Dakota 2001
17
Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota
Child Care
Licensed Child Care Capacity as a Percent of All
Children Ages 0 to 13 in North Dakota 1998 to
2002
18
Child and Family Well-Being in North
DakotaEducation
Students learn what they care about, from people
they care about and who, they know, care about
them -Barbara Harrell Carson, 1996, Thirty Ye
ars of Stories
19
Child and Family Well-Being in North
DakotaEducation
Emotionally Disturbed Children as a Percent of
Total Special Education Enrollment in North
Dakota 1993 to 2001
20
Child and Family Well-Being in North
DakotaChildren At-Risk
Children have more need of models than
critics.
-Joseph Joubert (1754 1824)
21
Child and Family Well-Being in North
DakotaChildren At-Risk
Percent of Teens Ages 16 to 19 Not Enrolled in
School, Not High School Graduates, and Not in the
Labor Force 1980, 1990, and 2000
22
Rural Initiatives

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation has recognized a
  rural disparity among data.
  
• A partnership between Kids Count organizations in
  South Dakota, Nebraska, and North Dakota was
  formed as a result.

23
Rural Initiatives

• A report titled A Rural Road Exploring Economic
  Opportunity, Social Networks, Services, and
  Supports that Affect Rural Families was released
  in December of 2001.
• This report is available online at
  www.ndkidscount.org.

24
Rural Initiatives

• The three kinds of connections identified as most
  critical include
  
• Economic Opportunity (e.g., jobs, wages, and
  cost-of-living)
  
• Social Networks (e.g., churches, schools, and
  recreation)
  
• Services and Supports (e.g., medical, child care,
  and shopping)

25
Conclusion

• And why do KIDS matter?
• OUR CHILDREN.
• OUR FUTURE.
• OUR PLAN.

26
A lasting thought
CHILDREN do better when their families are
STRONGAnd families do better when they live in
communitiesthat help them to SUCCEED.
27
Contact Information
Helen Danielson, Coordinator North Dakota KIDS CO
UNT! P.O. Box 5636 Fargo, ND 58105 Phone (701
) 231-5931
FAX [phone]
Email ndkidscount_at_yahoo.com Webpage www.ndkidsc
ount.org