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This section identifies national initiatives that serve as clearinghouses for measures of the quality of children's health, health care, and general well-being. Although projects presented in this section extend beyond the focus of quality of care, they are included in the Child Health Care Quality Toolbox as useful resources for understanding the breadth of child measurement activity and to provide potential benchmarks for some of the child health measures referenced in the Toolbox.

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics was created in 1997 to foster the coordination of Federal data on child and family issues. Its goal is to:

• Develop priorities for collecting enhanced data on children and adolescents.
• Improve the reporting and dissemination of information on the status of children to the policy community and the general public.

Each year, the Forum releases a report entitled America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well Being. Through an examination of available data from national surveys and vital records, the Forum shows the status of children as gauged by selective indicators of well-being. The report also poses development challenges to Federal statistical agencies through the identification of data or indicators that are not currently available or not reliable.

The indicators chosen for inclusion in the report are:

• Easy to understand by a broad audience.
• Based on valid data and substantial research linking them to child well-being.
• Balanced, so no one area of child well-being dominates.
• Based on data that are readily available to assess trends over time.
• Representative of large segments of the population.

Measures describe population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavioral and social environment, and education for America's children.

Online Resources:

For more information on the Forum and copies of the complete reports from 1998 to 2003, go to:

For the report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well Being, go to:

Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Children, 2001

This report is based on data from the 2001 National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It presents statistics on selected health measures for children under 18 years of age, classified by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, family structure, parent's education, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage, residence, region, and health status. Health topics covered include:

• Asthma.
• Allergies.
• Learning disability.
• Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
• Prescription medication.
• Respondent-assessed health status.
• School days lost.
• Usual place of health care.
• Time since last contact with a health professional.
• Unmet dental need.
• Time since last dental contact.
• Selected measures of health access.

The National Health Interview Survey is conducted through face-to-face interviews of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. In the interviews information is collected about one randomly selected child per family from an adult proxy respondent familiar with the child's health.

Online Resource:

Download the report from the National Health Interview Survey home page. Go to: .

Advancing State Child Indicators Initiatives

This project was a 2-year (1998-2000) collaboration between States and the program's government and nonprofit sponsors to promote the development and monitoring of indicators of health and well-being of children and their use in State and local policymaking. The project was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, with additional support from the Administration for Children and Families and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

Based on the following criteria, fourteen States were awarded grants under the initiative. The criteria for choosing States were:

• Their track record and proposal for development and use of indicators.
• Efforts to monitor program and policy changes.
• State leadership commitment.
• Involvement of public and private agencies in the partnership.
• Technical assistance needs.

The technical assistance provided under the initiative focused on assisting all States in areas of common interest in the conceptualization or use of indicators; targeted assistance to a small group of States on a specific area of indicator development; and individual consultation specific to a State's unique needs.

Participating States developed a broad range of indicators and resource guides through this initiative, including Kids Count, school readiness, child and family well-being, safety, and community support tools and resources.

Online Resources:

For a complete list of products and State contact information, go to:

For information about the Advancing State Child Indicators Initiatives, go to: .