Measuring Child Well-being: Reducing Risky Behavior

At this briefing, The Brookings Institution, in cooperation with the Foundation for Child Development and Duke University, will release a new index on the well-being of American children. The index is based on nearly thirty years of data collected from national surveys that focus on seven “domains” of child well-being: mortality, poverty, suicide rates, drug use, educational test scores, health insurance coverage, and crimes committed by children. The index contains valuable information on how children are currently faring and how their status has changed in recent years.

The panel will focus on two important issues: teen pregnancy and violent crime committed by, and against, youth. Levels of teen pregnancy and violent crime have been substantially reduced from their mid-1990s peak and speakers will offer insights on specific programs and policies that could help these trends continue in the right direction. Panelists will take questions from the audience following the discussion.