Children in the US are worse off than 30 years ago

The FCD Child Well-Being Index (CWI) is an annual comprehensive measure of how children are faring in the United States. It is based on 28 key indicators of well-being.

This year's CWI is an updated measure of trends over the 32-year period from 1975 to 2007, with projections for 2008. Progress in American children's quality of life has fluctuated since 2002, and began to decline in 2008.

A recent report, "Anticipating the Impacts of a 2008-2010 Recession", measures the impact of the current recession on the overall health, well-being and quality of life of America's children. It finds that the downturn will virtually undo all progress made in children's economic well-being since 1975. The significant decrease in this domain will also drag down the other domains of the CWI. The impact will be especially severe for low-income children of color.

Other key findings from the report show a decline in social connectedness, declines in health, safety, education and family income, and a rise in poverty. (Full)

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