October 10, 2002

2002 N.D. Kids Count! Fact Book Profiles Child Well-Being

During 2000, there were 4,055 reported cases of suspected child abuse and neglect in North Dakota involving 6,982 victims. And between 1998 and 2001, North Dakota saw a 14 percent decrease in licensed child care providers.

Those are among the indicators of North Dakota child well-being highlighted in the October Population Bulletin released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University. The bulletin presents selected indicators from the "2002 North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Fact Book," a publication released annually by the North Dakota KIDS COUNT! project.

The fact book details the well-being of North Dakota children by geographical location across the state. The 2002 publication marks the eighth annual publication produced by the North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Project, part of a fifty-state network founded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to collect information about the status of children in communities across the United States. Data included in yearly North Dakota KIDS COUNT! Fact Books cover issues affecting children from birth through adolescence and are widely used in planning, needs assessment, and grant writing activities on behalf of North Dakota children.

"Fact Book data offer a road map to better understanding the challenges facing North Dakota children in the communities where they live, and quantify the numbers of children affected by respective areas of concern," according to Richard Rathge, director of North Dakota KIDS COUNT!

For a copy or more information regarding the KIDS COUNT findings and highlights, please contact Richard Rathge, Director of North Dakota KIDS COUNT! (701) 231-8621 or Richard.Rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu  or visit the North Dakota KIDS COUNT! website at http://www.ndkidscount.org .

Highlights from this year’s report:

• During the past decade, the number of North Dakota children ages 0 to 17 decreased by 8 percent.
• Nearly half of North Dakota counties experienced decreases of at least 30 percent in children ages 0 to 5 between 1990 and 2000.

• Approximately 1 in 5 North Dakota children were living in low-income working families in 1999.
• There has been little change in the proportion of impoverished children in North Dakota over the past eight years.

• Licensed child care in North Dakota was available to 25 percent of children under age 13 in 2000.
• Between 1998 and 2001, North Dakota saw a 14 percent decrease in licensed child care providers.

• Infant mortality has changed little over the past 7 years and remains at less than 1 percent of all births in North Dakota.
• Deaths to children between 1 and 19 years of age declined between 1998 and 2000.

• Average expenditures for educating North Dakota children increased 16 percent between 1998 and 2000.
• Head Start enrollment for children 3 and 4 years of age increased slightly between 2000 and 2002.

• During 2000, there were 4,055 reported cases of suspected child abuse and neglect in North Dakota involving 6,982 victims.
• Alcohol offenses accounted for at least 21 percent of all juvenile offenses in 38 of North Dakota’s 53 counties.

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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