This paper examines the U.S. social insurance system, which we define broadly to include both programs supported by dedicated taxes and other federal programs that provide income support, assistance in meeting basic needs, or services to improve economic opportunity. The paper considers the social insurance system as a whole as well as its…

The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a…

U.S. Federal and state education policies place considerable emphasis on assessing the effects that schools and teachers have on student test score performance. It is important for education policy makers to also consider other factors that can affect student achievement. This study finds that an exogenous school factor, discontinuous health…

For policymakers, adolescence presents an invaluable opportunity to ensure that all young people can access the high-quality services and supports they need to improve their odds of becoming successful, healthy, productive adults. At an historic moment when the provisions and breadth of health care reform are under vigorous debate, it is important…

This Kids Count special report examines the relationship between poverty status and the number of children in Arkansas lacking health insurance. The report also presents information on two programs providing health care to Arkansas children whose parents lack insurance coverage, Medicaid and ARKids First. The report describes how these two…

This brief provides a snapshot of the types and scale of expansions that states have adopted in the early implementation phase of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a program to expand health coverage for low-income children up to age 19. In addition, the brief examines how coverage expansions vary in relation to state…

Although Pennsylvania ranks in the top 5 among states with the lowest rates of uninsured children under 19, 8.3 percent of the state's 3 million children lack health insurance. This Kids Count special report provides information on Pennsylvania's uninsured children. The report indicates that more than one-fourth are estimated to be eligible for…

Data from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) are analyzed to estimate the number and composition of children lacking health insurance prior to the implementation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The NSAF is a survey of children and adults under the age of 65 in more than 44,000 households, conducted as…

This report describes the degree and nature of hardship among low-income and poor working and nonworking families in a nationally representative sample of kindergartners--the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten Cohort). Five hardship indicators were examined: (1) lack of child health insurance; (2) child has not seen doctor at least…

In this paper, we explore whether the specific design of a state's program has contributed to its success in meeting two objectives of the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): increasing the health insurance coverage of children in lower-income families and doing so with a minimum reduction in their private health insurance coverage…

Families with incomes between the official poverty level and the minimum economic security level face many of the same material hardships and financial pressures that officially poor families face, partly because as their income grows, they lose eligibility for public benefits. This report focuses on the role that public policies play in…

This publication includes five articles on health care and health promotion within impoverished communities. "The Health of Families and Communities" (Douglas W. Nelson) introduces the issue, discussing the work of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in communities. "Inconspicuous Consumption: Treating Latent TB Infection in Seattle"…

This report details the impact of the changing health environment on children's health and access to health care in New York state. The report links key measures of child health with recent policy changes, such as expansions in health insurance coverage, Medicaid managed care, and welfare reform. Data from 1997 are used as a baseline measure for…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of Pennsylvanias children. The statistical portrait is based on trends in 19 indicators of child well being: (1) early prenatal care; (2) low birth weight; (3) infant mortality; (4) child deaths; (5) child violent deaths; (6) births to single mothers under age 20; (7) mothers with…

This 10th annual Kids Count data book reports on trends in the well-being of Kentucky's children. The statistical portrait is based on indicators in the areas of well being, child risk factors, and demography. The indicators are as follows: (1) healthy births, including birth weights and prenatal care; (2) maternal risk characteristics, including…