Annual Child Well-Being Index

The Child Well-Being Index finds that the impact of the recession on children is reaching new lows in 2010.

According to the report, in 2010, the recession will erase several economic improvements made for children since 1975. The areas affected include the rate of children living in families beneath the poverty line, median family income, secure parental employment and health insurance coverage.

The rate of children living in poverty in 2010 will be the highest in 20 years. Nearly 22 percent of children will live in poverty in 2010, compared to nearly 17 percent in 2006 before the recession began. For all families, median annual family income (measured in constant 2008 dollars) is expected to be $57,760 in 2010. This is a decline from $61,460 in 2007.

Although the report speculates that the economy is slowly recovering, researchers caution that a lag time typically occurs between when a recession hits and its subsequent impact. This lag time accounts for the formidable projections for 2010.

The Child Well-Being Index is an evidence-based measure of 28 key national indicators clustered in seven quality-of-life domains. Data sources include the U.S. Census and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The index is published by The Foundation for Child Development, a national, private philanthropy, and the Child and Youth Well-Being Index Project at Duke University.

Read the report.