Honoring Our Past, Building Kids' Futures
For more than 25 years, KIDS COUNT in Delaware has worked to improve the lives of children, youth and their families through data-driven advocacy, policy change and program improvement. Today, our work is more important than ever.
KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the well-being of children in the United States. KIDS COUNT in Delaware, a project of the Center for Community Research & Service, is a collaborative effort of over forty organizations to enrich local and state discussion concerning ways to secure better lives for all children by providing policy makers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being.
Making a difference for Delaware's children THROUGH:
Tracking data that reflect how children, their families and communities are faring.
Collaborating with decision-makers and other partners to forward policies and programs that improve the lives of all children and families.
Publishing research that sheds light on how policy and programs impact children and their families.
Serving as a resource by sharing annual statewide data on hundreds of indicators of child well-being and offering data expertise services to our communities and the organizations that serve them.
All data collected by KIDS COUNT in Delaware are available in the online, interactive KIDS COUNT Data Center.
Did You Know: KIDS COUNT in Delaware's Fact Book Has a New Name!
Facts on Children Underlying Success (FOCUS) This is our second year with a new name. FOCUS refers to the idea that we are using indicators to tell a story of Delaware kids around a specific theme. This year, that theme is "impact of COVID-19" as demonstrated by data. As always, for a more comprehensive listing of data on child and family well-being in Delaware, check out the KIDS COUNT Data Center.
The KIDS COUNT in Delaware 2024 FOCUS book describes the relationship between data, policy, and leadership and details the interconnectedness of decisions we make at the polls to outcomes children experience. With an election on the horizon, this is an especially timely issue.
This year's book spotlights public policy decisions connected to the impact they've made as shown in data and offers lessons learned which can be utilized in future decision making. Among the policy examples shared, there are themes that repeat and lessons learned which resonate. Specifically:
- Historical policies perpetuate inequities.
- Policy has the power to create larges scale impact.
- Policy must evolve as conditions change.
The book also suggests questions which individuals can ask candidates running for office, to better understand their priorities with respect to Delaware's youngest. Engaging in conversation about a prospective leader's priorities, vision for the future, and policy ideas for enacting that vision is one way to gauge whether they will best represent one's own values once elected. Watch a recording or view the slides of the release presentation.
All FOCUS book issues are available on the UDSpace Institutional Repository.
KIDS COUNT Data Center
The online KIDS COUNT Data Center tool offers data on education, employment and income, poverty, health and youth at-risk factors. We invite you to discover ways to customize the visualizations and join us in using the data to make informed decisions by investing in Delaware's biggest asset, our kids.
Making Sense of the Numbers
- KIDS COUNT in Delaware uploads the most current and reliable data available to the online data center
- Data that are inadequate or unavailable are denoted by "S" or "NA"
- Accepted names for various racial and ethnic groups are constantly in flux and indicators differ in their terminology. Therefore, KIDS COUNT in Delaware has used the terminology reported by the data collection sources
- Most data presented are for calendar years. Where data collected are by school year or fiscal year, the periods are September 1 to August 31 or July 1 to June 30 respectively
- The data are presented in primarily three ways:
- Annual data
- Three-year and five-year averages to minimize fluctuations of single-year data and provide a more realistic picture of children's outcomes
- Annual, three-year, or five-year average data for decade or longer to illustrate trends and permit long-term comparisons
- Where possible, data are delineated at a sub-state level
- Whether a number, rate, or percentage, each statistic tells us something different about children
- Caution should be exercised when attempting to draw conclusions from percentages or rates which are based on small numbers. Delaware and its counties can show very large or very small percentages as a result of only a few events. Therefore, KIDS COUNT in Delaware encourages you to look at overall trends. The key to evaluation of statistics is to examine everything in context.
Additional links and resources:
Listed below are a selection of additional resources that may complement your data and research queries related to the well-being of Delaware's children and their families. If you have an additional resource to be considered, please email our project staff with details.
State Resources
- Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research (CADSR)
- Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware
- Delaware Department of Education
- Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
- Delaware Health Statistics Center
- Delaware Office of Occupational and Labor Market Information
- Delaware Open Data Portal
- Delaware Population Consortium
- Delaware Public Education At A Glance, Rodel Foundation
- Delaware State Police
- Delaware Statistical Analysis Center
- My Healthy Community
National Resources
- Administration for Children and Families
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Child Care Aware
- Child Health Statistics
- Child Stats
- Child Trends Data Bank
- Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
- IPUMS Center for Data Integration
- National Center for Education Statistics
- National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention
- National Core Indicators
- National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
- National Health Interview Survey
- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- National Survey of Children's Health
- National Survey on Drug and Health
- National Violent Death Reporting System
- Population Reference Bureau
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
What is KIDS COUNT in Delaware?
KIDS COUNT in Delaware is part of a nationwide network funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation which raise public awareness and accountability for the condition of kids and families by: 1. measuring and reporting on the status of children, and 2. using that information creatively to inform public debate and strengthen public action on behalf of children and families within the state. To that end, KIDS COUNT in Delaware engages in a wide variety of public awareness activities including publication of data-driven products that examine the status of children and families in the state. Put simply: KIDS COUNT exists to measure child outcomes and contribute to public accountability for those outcomes, resulting in a model for data-driven advocacy for children, their families, and their communities.
How can I get a KIDS COUNT in Delaware Fact Book?
KIDS COUNT in Delaware's Fact Book has a new name: Facts on Children Underlying Success (FOCUS). Similar to previous editions of our annual Fact Book, the KIDS COUNT in Delaware FOCUS provides an annual overview of child well-being in Delaware and reports out on select indicators across the four traditionally reported categories of health, education, economic security, and family/community in relation to the year's data and policy focus.
The most recent edition of the state FOCUS book can be found on our publications page. All previous state FOCUS books (and Fact Books) are housed in the University's Institutional Repository: UDSpace. Additionally, all data collected by KIDS COUNT in Delaware are accessible in the online, interactive KIDS COUNT Data Center.
How do I make a data request?
KIDS COUNT in Delaware offers assistance with finding and understanding data about Delaware's children. If you have data questions, please email us at kids-count@udel.edu.
How do I cite KIDS COUNT in Delaware data?
Permission to copy, reprint, or otherwise distribute KIDS COUNT data is granted as long as appropriate acknowledgement is given. When citing data from the Data Center website, please use: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center, datacenter.kidscount.org.
Where can I get services for my child in Delaware?
KIDS COUNT in Delaware is a policy focused, capacity building program and does not provide direct services. For information and referral services, contact the Delaware Information Helpline at 2-1-1.
Can I get someone from KIDS COUNT to speak to my group?
KIDS COUNT in Delaware regularly presents data to our groups across the state. If you are interested in having a KIDS COUNT Conversation, please email us at kids-count@udel.edu.
KIDS COUNT in Delaware Board
Kiera McGillivray Board President Children and Families First
Traci Murphy Board Vice-President Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence
Brian Moore Board Fundraising Chair Beau Biden Foundation
Erica Boyle
Gabrielle Gomes Youth Representative (Middletown High School)
Kim Gomes ByrdGomes
Sandi Hagans-Morris First State Community Action Agency
Joyce D. Hawkins Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
Melissa Hopkins Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement
Rebecca King Retired Nursing Director, Division of Public Health
Stephen Metraux Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Mary Mitsdarffer Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Rosie Morales Department of Education
Josh Ogburn Nemours Children's Health
Kyle Phillips Department of Health and Social Services
Betsy Renzo Delaware Law Related Education Center
KIDS COUNT in Delaware Data Committee
Kelli O. Thompson Committee Chair, Nemours Children's Health
Rochelle Brittingham Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware
Maridelle A. Dizon Delaware Health Statistics Center, Delaware Health and Social Services
Steven A. Dowshen Pediatrician
Katie Gifford Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Tammy Hyland Delaware State Police
Theodore W. Jarrell FIBP Analytics
Emily Kauffman United Way of Delaware
Jennifer Koester Delaware Department of Technology and Information
Rebecca McColl Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Mary Joan McDuffie Consultant
Sharon Merriman-Nai Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware
Stephen Metraux Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Mary Mitsdarffer Center for Community Research and Service, University of Delaware
Annie Norman Delaware Division of Libraries
Angela Palmer Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families
Adrian Peoples Delaware Department of Education
Subscribe to the KIDS COUNT in Delaware monthly e-newsletter for monthly updates on news, research and policy information.
Be social with KIDS COUNT in Delaware on Facebook.
Share your data insights with KIDS COUNT in Delaware on Twitter.
Join the research conversation with KIDS COUNT in Delaware on Instagram.
Consider a Gift
Please help us honor our past while building for the future with your gift. A tax-deductible contribution can be made at www.udel.edu/giving/kidscount
You can also send a check (payable to the University of Delaware) to: KIDS COUNT in Delaware, 298K Graham Hall Newark DE, 19716-7350
KIDS COUNT in DELAWARE Team
