Kids Count, a project of the Annie E.
Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort
to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers
and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, Kids Count
seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning
ways to secure better futures for all children. The Casey
Foundation produces the annual Kids Count Data Book, as well
as periodic special reports that track child well-being state-by-state.
The Foundation also funds Kids Count projects in every state. Agenda for Children serves as the KIDS COUNT grantee in Louisiana.
At the state level, Agenda for Children
produces the Kids Count Data Book on Louisiana's Children,
as well as special reports containing parish-by-parish data
on the educational, social, economic and physical well-being
of children. This data is available in hard copy, as well
as on-line. For more information on the Louisiana Kids Count
project, contact Teresa Falgoust.
Below is a list of publications available through our KIDS COUNT program.
Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book
Louisiana Ranked 49th in Overall Child Well-Being
The 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book examines how children and families are faring in the wake of the recession. It ties together research findings on family economic success in 2010 and the critical role of investing in early childhood programs to allow the next generation to succeed. For the first time, the Data Book includes state-level data on children affected by foreclosure and children with at least one unemployed parent.
The Data Book, which is published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, ranks each state based on ten key indicators of child well-being. Louisiana ranked 49th among states in overall child well-being. Since 2000, Louisiana has seen improvements in the child death rate, the teen birth rate, teens not in school and not high school graduates, and children living in poverty. Louisiana saw data worsen for several indicators, including low birthweight babies, infant mortality rate, the teen death rate, and children in single-parent families. Data for two other indicators were not directly comparable to 2000 data. More information is available in the national press release, the Louisiana fact sheet, and the Louisiana press release.
We also invite you to visit the online KIDS COUNT Data Center (http://datacenter.kidscount.org), which provides easy, online access to the latest child well-being data on hundreds of indicators by state, county, city, and school district. Visit the new mobile site being launched in conjunction with this year’s Data Book from your smartphone, such as the Droid, BlackBerry, or iPhone. For additional information or to request a Data Book, please contact Teresa Falgoust at (504) 586-8509. The Data Book can also be downloaded from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's web site.
2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book on Louisiana's Children
The 2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book on Louisiana's Children, which was produced by Agenda for Children with the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, features profiles of child well-being in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes. Each parish profile includes data on demographics, maternal and child health, education, family economics, child welfare and juvenile justice.
Readers can use the Data Book's parish profiles to see how well their parish's children are doing on a host of different indicators, ranging from low birthweight babies to high school graduation rates. Download the report or contact Teresa Falgoust at (504) 586-8509 to order a hard copy of the book.
Visit the online KIDS COUNT Data Center
Access Data on Hundreds of Indicators of Child Well-Being
Visit the KIDS COUNT online Data Center to get data on hundreds of different indicators of child well-being at the national, state, and community level. The Data Center allows you to easily create your own customized maps, graphs, and charts, and use them in presentations or add them to your own website.
The Louisiana page in the "Data By State" section of the Data Center features parish- and school district-level data on many areas of child well-being, including demographics, education, economic well-being, health, juvenile justice, and child welfare.
Go to the Data Across States section of the Data Center to easily compare Louisiana to every other state on hundreds of different measures of child well-being.
Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters
A KIDS COUNT Special Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Children who read on grade level by the end of third grade are more successful in school, work, and in life. This KIDS COUNT special report affirms a commitment by the Casey Foundation to help ensure that all students are proficient in reading by the end of third grade and help narrow the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.
Louisiana ranked last among states in terms of the percentage of fourth graders who scored "proficient" on the reading section of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test.
The 2009 KIDS COUNT Data Book on Louisiana's Children provides parish-level data and information on over fifty different measures of child well-being. It includes statistics related to demographics, education, health, child welfare, and juvenile justice.
The report finds that race and place are two of the strongest predictors of child well-being in Louisiana. “As a society that values equity, it is imperative that Louisiana actively pursue policies and practices that lift up all our children," said Judy Watts, President/CEO of Agenda for Children. For more information, please read the press release or full report. Contact Teresa Falgoust at (504) 586-8509 for additional information or to request a Data Book on Louisiana's Children.
Agenda for Children's 2006
Louisiana KIDS COUNT Special Report on Child Care includes parish-level data on early education in Louisiana, including the availability of family child care homes, licensed child care centers and Head Start.
Click on the image at the left to download the full
report in PDF format. The press release is available here.
