“Examining the Critical Issues for Children and Families in North Dakota” Helen Danielson, Coordinator North Dakota KIDS COUNT! October 14, 2003 Fargo, ND

Overview Background –Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota –Overview of North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Website and Fact Book Six Indicators Rural Initiatives Conclusion

“CHILDREN do better when their families are STRONG…And families do better when they live in communities…that help them to SUCCEED.” Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS COUNT!

The North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Fact Book is available online at

Annie E. Casey Foundation and the national KIDS COUNT program The national KIDS COUNT Data Book is available online at North Dakota ranks 7 th in overall child well-being!

Annie E. Casey Foundation and North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Three premises are essential to successful family outcomes: 1.Creating the opportunity to earn a decent living and building assets. 2.Building close ties with family, neighbors, kin, faith communities, and civic groups. 3.Having reliable services close to home.

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota Currently, North Dakota KIDS COUNT! collects and reports county-specific data for six indicators. In addition, trend-line data at the state, regional, and county level are available.

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota The North Dakota KIDS COUNT! web page and 2003 Fact Book are organized into the following six themes: 1.Population 2.Family Composition 3.Economic Condition 4.Child Care 5.Education 6.Children At-Risk

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Population “Children are all foreigners” -Ralph Waldo Emerson ( )

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Population Urban and Rural Population Distribution in North Dakota: 1900 to 2000

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Family Composition “A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold.” -Ogden Nash ( )

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Family Composition Percent of Women With Children Ages 0 to 17 Who Are in the Labor Force: 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Economic Condition “North Dakota continues to have one of the highest multiple job holding rates in the nation.”

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Economic Condition North Dakota continues to have one of the highest multiple job holding rates in the nation. Indicators of economic condition as reported by North Dakota KIDS COUNT! include, but are not limited to: 1.Children living in poverty 2.Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid recipients 3.Free and reduced price lunches 4.Eligible food stamp recipients 5.Median family income 6. WIC Program participants (Women, Infants, and Children)

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Child Care “The greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth. From this almost mystic affirmation there comes what may seem a strange conclusion: that education must start from birth.” -Maria Montessori ( )

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Child Care Licensed Child Care Capacity as a Percent of Children Ages 0 to 13 in North Dakota: 2001

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Child Care Licensed Child Care Capacity as a Percent of All Children Ages 0 to 13 in North Dakota: 1998 to 2002

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Education “Students learn what they care about, from people they care about and who, they know, care about them…” -Barbara Harrell Carson, 1996, Thirty Years of Stories

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Education Emotionally Disturbed Children as a Percent of Total Special Education Enrollment in North Dakota: 1993 to 2001

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Children At-Risk “Children have more need of models than critics.” -Joseph Joubert (1754 – 1824)

Child and Family Well-Being in North Dakota: Children At-Risk Percent of Teens Ages 16 to 19 Not Enrolled in School, Not High School Graduates, and Not in the Labor Force: 1980, 1990, and 2000

Rural Initiatives The Annie E. Casey Foundation has recognized a “rural disparity” among data. –A partnership between Kids Count organizations in South Dakota, Nebraska, and North Dakota was formed as a result.

Rural Initiatives A report titled “A Rural Road: Exploring Economic Opportunity, Social Networks, Services, and Supports that Affect Rural Families” was released in December of –This report is available online at

Rural Initiatives The three kinds of connections identified as most critical include: 1.Economic Opportunity (e.g., jobs, wages, and cost-of-living) 2.Social Networks (e.g., churches, schools, and recreation) 3.Services and Supports (e.g., medical, child care, and shopping )

Conclusion And why do KIDS matter? OUR CHILDREN. OUR FUTURE. OUR PLAN.

A lasting thought… “CHILDREN do better when their families are STRONG…And families do better when they live in communities…that help them to SUCCEED.”

Contact Information: Helen Danielson, Coordinator North Dakota KIDS COUNT! P.O. Box 5636 Fargo, ND Phone: (701) FAX: (701) Webpage: