THE KIDS COUNT INITIATIVE: USING SOCIAL INDICATORS TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CHILD WELLBEING

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THE KIDS COUNT INITIATIVE USING SOCIAL
INDICATORS TO INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF CHILD
WELL-BEING

• Dr. William OHare
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation

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OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

• OVERVIEW OF KIDS COUNT INITIATIVE
• FUNDAMENTALS
• HISTORY
• KEY ACTIVITIES
• IMPACT OF KIDS COUNT
• LESSONS LEARNED

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MAJOR GOAL OF THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION

• IMPROVE THE LIFE CHANCES OF AMERICAS MOST
  VULNERABLE CHILDREN

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BASIC REASON FOR CREATION OF THE KIDS COUNT
INITIATIVE

• LEADERS AND DECISION- MAKERS WERE UNAWARE OF
  MOST BASIC FACTS ABOUT CHILDREN AND YOUTH

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FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF OF THE CASEY FOUNDATION

• DECISIONS MADE ON THE BASIS OF GOOD SCIENTIFIC
  DATA WILL GENERALLY PRODUCE BETTER OUTCOMES FOR
  CHIDLREN

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KEY GOALS OF KIDS COUNT INITIATIVE

• INCREASE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN
• ELEVATE CHILDRENS ISSUES ON PUBLIC AGENDA
• INCREASE DATA-BASED CHILD ADVOCACY
• REPLACE IDEALOGY WITH SCIENCE AS BASIS FOR
  DECISION-MAKING

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TWO STRANDS OF THE KIDS COUNT INITIATIVE

• NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS
• YEARLY DATA BOOK
• OTHER PUBLICATIONS
• WEBSITE (WWW.KIDSCOUNT.ORG)
• NETWORK OF STATE GRANTEES
• PUBLICATIONS
• NETWORK FUNCTIONS
• ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

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CHARACTERSTICS OF KIDS COUNT PUBLICATIONS

• SIMPLE AND USER-FRIENDLY
• USE EASILY UNDERSTOOD MEASURES
• STRONG OUTREACH TO THE PUBLIC
• HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ASSESSING CHILD WELL-BEING
• YEARLY UPDATES PERMIT TRACKING
• STATES ARE KEY UNIT
• FOCUS ON DESCRIPTION, NOT ANALYSIS

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CHARACTERSTICS OF STATE KIDS COUNT GRANTEES

• STATEWIDE IN SCOPE
• FOCUSED ON MULTIPLE CHILDRENS ISSUES
• CAPACITY TO ACCESS, ANALYZE AND PRESENT
  STATISTICAL DATA
• CAPACITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE MEDIA

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• KIDS COUNT
• PRINTED PRODUCTS

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PRINT RUN FOR KIDS COUNT PRODUCTS IN 2005

• 65,000 DATA BOOKS
• 30,000 POCKET GUIDES
• 10,000 WALL CHARTS
• 20,000 DATA WHEELS
• 20,000 ESSAY REPRINTS

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Special KIDS COUNT Products 1995 - 2005
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KIDS COUNT WEBSITE
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE KIDS COUNT WEBSITE 1997 TO
2005
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KIDS COUNT WEBSITE

• REPORTS
• DATA
• INFORMATION ON STATE GRANTEES

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KIDS COUNT ON-LINE DATA SYSTEMS

• STATE-LEVEL DATA ON-LINE
• COMMUNITY-LEVEL INFORMATION ON KIDS SYSTEM
  (CLIKS)
• 2000 CENSUS DATA ON LINE

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Over 75,000 people visit the KIDS COUNT website
each month generating over 250,000 reports on
children and families
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OUTREACH AND DISSEMINATION
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MAJOR DISSEMINATION EFFORTS

• ABOUT 20,000 DATA BOOKS ARE DISTRIBUTED EACH YEAR
  BY OUR STATE-LEVEL KIDS COUNT GRANTEES
• (SEVERAL THOUSAND HAND-DELIVERED TO STATE
  LEGISLATORS)
• ABOUT 20,000 DATA BOOKS ARE DISTRIBUTED EACHYEAR
  BY DISSEMINATION PARTNERS SUCH AS THE UNITED WAY,
  THE PTA, AND NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

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EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DATA BOOK IN THE MEDIA

• PRESS LIST UPDATED EACH YEAR BY STATE KIDS COUNT
  GRANTEES AND EXAMINATION OF PREVIOUS YEARS
  NEWSPAPER STORIES
• PRESS MATERIALS SENT TO 1000s OF JOURNALISTS
  CUSTOMIZED BY STATE
• PASSWORD-PROTECTED WEBSITE AVAILABLE TO
  JOURNALISTS 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO RELEASE
• VIDEO NEWS RELEASE DEVELOPED FOR EACH STATE
• RADIO ACTUALITIES PRODUCED FOR EACH STATE

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RESULTS
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• NEARLY ONE MILLION NATIONAL DATA BOOKS HAVE BEEN
  PRINTED AND DISSEMINATED SINCE 1990
• OVER 300 SEPARATE STATE-LEVEL DATA BOOKS HAVE
  BEEN DISSEMINATED SINCE 1990
• MORE THAN 300 SEPARATE STATE-LAVEL POLICY
  BRIEFS/REPORT HAVE BEEN DISSEMINATED SINCE 1990
• THERE ARE ABOUT 800,000 VISITORS TO THE KIDS
  COUNT WEBSITE EACH YEAR.

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MEDIA ATTENTION FROM 2005 DATA BOOK RELEASE

• MORE THAN 981 NEWSPAPER STORIES REACHING 60
  MILLION POTENTIAL READERS
• MORE THAN 559 TELEVISION STORIES REACHING 20
  MILLION VIEWERS
• MORE THAN 1,370 RADIO INTERVIEWS (ACTUALITIES)
  REACHED 139 MILLION LISTENERS (INCLUDES VOA
  SEGMENT)
• 28,000 INTERNET VISITORS DURING WEEK OF RELEASE

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REACHING LEADERS AND POLICY MAKERS
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AUDIENCES SURVEYED IN PAST TWO YEARS

• STATE LEGISLATORS
• STATE LEGISLATIVE LEADERS
• COUNTY OFFICIALS
• BUSINESS LEADERS
• DATA USERS
• COLLEGE PROFESSORS

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM SURVEY OF STATE LEGISLATORS

• 75 ARE AWARE OF KIDS COUNT
• 55 SAY THEY USE KIDS COUNT REPORTS
• 58 SAY KIDS COUNT DATA IS TIMELY
• 65 SAY KIDS COUNT IS CREDIBLE
• 52 SAY KIDS COUNT IS USEFUL AND RELEVENT FOR
  POLICY MAKERS

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STATE LEGISLATORS PERCEPTIONS OF STATE-LEVEL
IMPACT

• 64 SAY KIDS COUNT HAD AN IMPACT ON PUBLIC
  AWARENESS IN THEIR STATE
• 60 SAY KIDS COUNT HAD AN IMPACT ON PUBLIC POLICY
  IN THEIR STATE

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WAYS STATE LEGISLATORS SAID THEY USE DATA FROM
KIDS COUNT

• 79 INFORM MYSELF ABOUT CHILDRENS NEEDS
• 68 BACKGROUND RESEACH ON ISSUE
• 49 COMMITTEE DELIBERATIONS
• 48 CRAFT LEGISLATION, POLICIES OR PROGRAMS
• 46 IN SPEECHES
• 45 CHECK OTHER DATA SOURCES
• 26 HOLD STATE AGENCIES ACCOUNTABLE

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM SURVEY OF BUSINESS LEADERS

• 51 SAY THEY ARE AWARE OF KIDS COUNT
• 26 SAY THEY USE KIDS COUNT REPORTS
• 66 SAY KIDS COUNT HAS INCREASED PUBLIC
  ATTENTION TO CHILDREN IN THEIR STATE
• 50 SAY KIDS COUNT HAS AN IMPACT ON PUBLIC
  POLICY IN THEIR STATE

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AWARENESS OF KIDS COUNT AMONG DATA USERS

• 75 HAVE HEARD OF KIDS COUNT
• 66 HAVE USED KIDS COUNT MATERIAL
• 90 OF DATA USERS IN GOVERNMENT/POLICY POSITIONS
  HAVE HEARD OF KIDS COUNT

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INFLUENCE - INIATIVES BEGUN SINCE KIDS COUNT
STARTED

• FEDERAL INTERAGENCY FORUM ON CHILD AND FAMILY
  STATISTICS
• AMERICAS CHILDREN KEY NATIONL INDIATORS OF
  WELL-BEING
• TRENDS IN THE WELL-BEING OF AMERICAS CHILDREN
  AND YOUTH
• CENSUS BUREAUS AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY SAIPE
  SMALL AREA HEALTH INSURANCE DATA
• SLAITS STATE AND LOCAL AREA INTEGRATED
  TELEPHONE SURVEY

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OVERALL IMPACTS OF KIDS COUNT

• CHANGED THE TONE OF CHILD ADVOCATES TO BE MORE
  DATA-DRIVEN
• PROMOTED ACCOUNTABILITY
• ENCOURAGED MORE DATA-BASED REPORTS ON CHILDREN
  AND OTHER GROUPS

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LESSONS LEARNED

• SUCCESS DUE TO MARRIAGE OF STATISTICAL SCIENCE
  AND COMMUNICATIONS
• KEEP IT SIMPLE!
• REGULAR SUSTAINED PUBLICATION AND CONSISTENT
  MEASURES ARE CRITICAL
• RANKINGS GET ATTENTION
• USE OF MEDIA IS CRITICAL FOR REACHING LEADERS
• STATE FOCUS IS CRITICAL
• DATA CREDIBILITY TRANSLATES INTO ISSUE
  CREDIBILITY
• UNSTATED ASSUMPTION IF IT IS IMPORTANT IT WILL
  BE MEASURED AND REPORTED