1 The America’s Promise Index Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D. Senior Scholar and Senior Research Scientist Child Trends International Society for Child Indicators Conference

2 History of America’s Promise America’s Promise was founded at the Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future in 1997, where Presidents Bush, Carter, Clinton, and Ford, and former first lady Nancy Reagan, challenged the nation to make children and youth a national priority.

3 Caring adults Safe places A healthy start An effective education Opportunities to help others Mission of America’s Promise Commitment to ensure that every child in America has the fundamental resources (promises) they need to succeed. The Five Promises are:

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5 America’s Promise commissioned the National Promises Study to examine the presence of the Five Promises in the lives of America’s children and youth A comprehensive look at the state of America’s youth Provides benchmark data to quantify the number of children receiving the Five Promises, including highlighting gaps in the delivery of the Five Promises Every Child, Every Promise

6 National Promises Study Purpose: How many young people have the resources essential for successful developmental trajectories through childhood and adolescence? Methodology: Three surveys developed and administered by Search Institute, Child Trends, and Gallup (informed by the Alliance Research Council) –2, year-olds –2,000 parents of 6-11 year-olds –2,000 parents of year-olds Oversamples of African Americans and Hispanic Americans Best response rate Gallup has had in the past two years

7 Promise: Caring Adults Caring relationships with parents Caring relationships with adults in extended family Caring relationships with adults at school Caring relationships with adults in the neighborhood (formal and informal) 90% of children (ages 6-11 years) and 76% of youth (ages years) successfully experience Caring Adults (have 3 of the 4 indicators)

8 Promise: Safe Places Safe family Safe school Safe neighborhood Parental monitoring Opportunity for involvement in high-quality structured activities Frequency of participation in high-quality structured activities 31% of children (ages 6-11 years) and 42% of youth (ages years) successfully experience Safe Places (have 5 of the 6 indicators)

9 Promise: Healthy Start Regular checkups and health insurance Good nutrition Daily physical activity Adequate sleep Health education classes Positive adult role models Peer influence Emotional safety 49% of children (ages 6-11 years) and 36% of youth (ages years) successfully experience a Healthy Start (have 6 of the 8 indicators)

10 Promise: Effective Education Positive school climate School culture emphasizes academic achievement Learning to use technology Reading for pleasure Friends value being a good student School perceived as relevant and motivating Parents actively involved Adult sources of guidance Opportunities to learn social skills 79% of children (ages 6-11 years) and 39% of youth (ages years) successfully experience an Effective Education (have 7 of the 9 indicators)

11 Promise: Opportunities to Help Adult models of volunteering Peer models of volunteering Parent civic engagement Family conversation about current events Youth role in school and community 55% of children (ages 6-11 years) and 53% of youth (ages years) successfully experience Opportunities to Help (have 4 of the 5 indicators)

Promises 2-3 Promises 4-5 Promises 6-11 years13% (3 million) 50% (12 million) 37% (9 million) years30% (7 million) 45% (11 million) 25% (6 million) Promises experienced

13 Developmental outcomes Children and youth who experience 4-5 Promises fare significantly better on 19 of 20 outcomes, including: Thriving Violence avoidance Educational achievement Volunteering

14 Thriving among 6-11 year-olds

15 Violence avoidance among year-olds

16 Diverse groups of youth vary: Girls experience more Promises than boys White children and youth experience more Promises than Hispanic or African American children and youth year-olds experience more Promises than year-olds Higher family income and maternal education also are associated with more Promises

17 Promises experienced by gender

18 Promises experienced by race/ethnicity

19 Promises experienced by age group

20 Promises experienced by maternal education

21 Promises experienced by family income

22 Additional analyses Stepwise regression Promises are more important predictors than demographic characteristics (i.e., contribute more to the variance of developmental outcomes). ANOVA Experiencing the Promises is associated with greater equality across demographic groups in developmental outcomes. When children and youth experience 4-5 Promises: –60% of differences between demographic groups disappear –18% of differences are reduced

23 Educational achievement: Attenuation of gender differences * p ≤.05, **** p ≤.0001

24 Volunteering: Elimination of racial/ethnic group differences **** p ≤.0001

25 Thriving: Elimination of differences by age group * p ≤.05

26 Thriving: Elimination of differences by maternal education **** p ≤.0001

27 Violence avoidance: Attenuation of differences by family income ** p ≤.01, **** p ≤.0001

28 Conclusions A minority of children and adolescents have the resources necessary for optimal development as indicated by a sufficient number of Promises. Experiencing more Promises is consistently associated with better developmental outcomes. Disparities in developmental outcomes and Promises experienced exist across groups that differ by gender, age, race, and parental income and education. Disparities in developmental outcomes across demographic groups are attenuated or eliminated when children and youth experience 4-5 Promises.

29 Resources Child Trends Databank: Search Institute America’s Promise Every Child, Every Promise report and key findings: