[kids-lib] Research Report: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011

[Katie Anderson]

Hello!  I thought children's and teen librarians may be interested in reading the latest report from America's Children on Key National Indicators of Well-being<http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/index.asp> (of 0-17 year olds).

Here are some things I learned from the highlights<http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/index3.asp> that got me thinking about library services to children and teens:

*         The racial and ethnic diversity of America's Children has grown dramatically in the last three decades and will continue to grow. In 2023, fewer than half of all children are projected to be White, non-Hispanic.

o   Will the % of materials in library collections representing races and ethnicities be equal to the actual % of those races and ethnicities in the community in 2023 (which is only 12 years away!)

*         About 6 percent of school-age children spoke a language other than English at home and lived in a linguistically isolated household in which all persons age 14 or over speak a language other than English at home and no person age 14 or over speaks English "Very well."

o   How is the library providing services to children and families who speak languages other than English?

*         In 2009, 21 percent of all children ages 0-17 (15.5 million) lived in poverty.

o   What partnerships and/or outreach services is the library implementing to reach kids in poverty who may need our resources the most?

*         In 2009, the adolescent birth rate was 20.1 per 1,000 adolescents ages 15-17, lower than the 2008 rate of 21.7 and the 2007 rate of 22.1 per 1,000.

o   How is the library providing services to pregnant and parenting teens?

*         In an average week during the 2010 school year, 9 percent of youth ages 16-19 were neither enrolled in school nor working. Black, non-Hispanic youth and Hispanic youth are more likely to be neither enrolled in school nor working than White, non-Hispanic youth.

o   What partnerships and outreach services is the library implementing to engage unemployed, high-school dropouts?

If the link breaks, here is the URL: http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/index.asp

Katie Anderson, Library Development Services
* Youth Services Consultant * Oregon Center for the Book Coordinator *
Oregon State Library, 250 Winter St. NE, Salem, OR 97301
katie.anderson at state.or.us<mailto:katie.anderson at state.or.us>, 503-378-2528

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