America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007

Changes to This Year's Report

To prepare for this year's 10th anniversary edition, the Forum revisited the report's conceptual framework, structure, and indicators. While most of the report remains the same, new sections and indicators were added, some were renamed, and some reorganized. The first section, Family and Social Environment, includes most of the measures that had previously appeared in the section labeled Part I: Population and Family Characteristics. Demographic background measures that were in this section (the number and proportion of children in the population and their racial composition) are described in this report under Demographic Background.

Two new sections have been added to this year's report, including one entitled Physical Environment and Safety and another on Health Care. Nine new indicators were added to the report. These include indicators on child maltreatment, oral health, drinking water quality, lead in the blood of children, child injury and mortality, adolescent injury and mortality, sexual activity, college enrollment, and asthma. An indicator on general health status that appeared in past years is no longer included in the report. Henceforth, America's Children reports will reflect these improvements. Because of the many changes to the 10th anniversary edition, special features are not included this year.