Minnesota KIDS COUNT provides county-by-county data on the well-being of Minnesota's children and families. Minnesota KIDS COUNT releases periodic reports and an annual data book to provide a statistical profile of Minnesota's children and suggestions for action on their behalf.

2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book Released

This year's data book, Seven Basic Needs, focuses on needs that all children share, regardless of their age, race/ethnicity, family status, or which Minnesota community they live. The seven needs begin with the inner-most circles in a child's life (family & caregivers, economic security, food & nutrition, and healthy development) and progress to areas outside of the family (early care & education, school-age care & education, and safe homes & communities). Within these need areas, we provide 115 data indicators of well-being, including 10 annual indicators and 5 featured indicators for family success. In addition, 40 of the indicators are available at the county-level, the most we have ever provided in a Minnesota KIDS COUNT data book. Through this year's data book, we hope to emphasize the comprehensive nature of children's well-being and generate discussion, support, and advocacy to meet all of the needs of Minnesota's children.

An excerpt from the introduction to Seven Basic Needs:

While these basic needs are distinct categories for purposes of this data book, we know both instinctively and from volumes of research that these needs are interdependent. We know that as family income rises, poor children experience better developmental outcomes. We know that providing health care coverage for our children is less costly — in terms of both their health outcomes and public outlays — than allowing them to go uninsured.

Conversely, failure to meet one or more of these needs creates cascading difficulties for children. The girl whose stomach is empty struggles to concentrate on the math problem before her; the uninsured boy whose asthma is untreated is more likely to miss days and fall behind in school; the teenager who was abused by his father is more likely to become homeless.

Because these basic needs are interrelated, so too must our public response to them be. We must work across communities, across existing departments and systems, and across the public, private and nonprofit sectors to envision how we can creatively and collectively meet children's needs.

Download Seven Basic Needs: Minnesota KIDS COUNT Data Book 2007

To order a hard copy of the book, click here to be redirected to the publications page.

Minnesota KIDS COUNT 2007 Data by County

Use this links below to download PDF files with county-specific information about the well-being of children in your area. Each county sheet includes demographic data for the county, 10 annual indicators for both 2000 and 2005, and three featured indicators. The menu also includes a county tables document, which presents the 10 annual, 5 featured, and 25 additional indicators for all 87 counties and the state as a whole. You can also click the links on our Minnesota County Map.

Generate a Customized KIDS COUNT Report

Minnesota KIDS COUNT is pleased to partner with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to give you interactive access to all of our KIDS COUNT data through the CLIKS system.

How is this different than downloading the latest data book?

• All data for all years is available (1991 to the most recently released data.)
• You can compare any combination of counties - you pick!
• You can create graphs and maps for the data and years that interest you most.

Click here for more information and links to this powerful web site.

2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) Chart

Click the link below to download a PDF document with the 2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines. The document also includes information on income eligibility for Minnesota's public programs, including health care, Food Supports, energy assistance, child care, and free and reduced-price school meals.

Download the 2007 FPG and Minnesota Program Eligibility Chart

Minnesota KIDS COUNT 2007: Data Sources Online

This word document includes online links to some of the data used in the 2007 data book. Click the link below to download the document, then click on the individual links to access the data sources you are interested in.

Download links document for online data sources

Stars of the State: Organizations Making a Difference

The KIDS COUNT Data Book provides a snapshot of the status of Minnesota children and families. It is our hope that the facts and figures are not only informative, but also encourage community action to improve the lives of children. The seven local initiatives profiled in this document illustrate the types of innovative programs currently responding to childrenŐs basic needs. They are just seven of countless groups, organizations, and individuals working across the state to create the opportunities and conditions to help children thrive and succeed.

Download Stars of the State: Organizations Making a Difference

Minnesota KIDS COUNT DATABOOK 2006 Kids Count 2006 Data Book - The Wonder Years: Early Childhood in Minnesota The 2006 data book examines the health, safety, economic security, and education of Minnesota's young children using more than 15 national and state-level data sources.

American Community Survey Data Minnesota data is now available from the 2002 through 2004 US Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Data about children and families is available for the state and four counties. Minnesota Anoka Dakota Hennepin Ramsey
Children's Mental Health Data in Minnesota This special report consolidates and presents the relatively small amount of available data about children's mental health in Minnesota.
2000 Census Data About Minnesota Kids These reports analyze data from the 2000 census for all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Measuring the Economic Well-Being of Families and Children 2005 This report looks at the economic well-being of Minnesota children and families in three domains: worker characteristics, income, and economic environment.
All Kids Count! Assessing the Well-Being of African-American, American Indian, Asian and Latino Children in Minnesota.

This research was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Foundation.

What does KIDS COUNT data do?

Raises public awareness and accountability for the condition kids and families.

Measures and reports on the status of our kids.

Uses the information to inform public debate and strengthen public action on behalf of children and families within the state.

Questions?

E-mail our Research Director Andi Egbert or call 651.855.1184


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