Despite improvements in many indicators of child welfare such as the infant mortality rate and the preterm birth rate, a recent compilation of national statistics shows a dramatic increase in housing cost burden in the past decade among families with children.
These and other findings are described in America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012. The report was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a working group of 22 federal agencies that produce and use data on issues related to children and families.
Among the report's other findings were that the adolescent birth rate continued to decline, average mathematics scores increased for 4th and 8th grade students, the violent crime victimization rate among youth fell, as did the percentage of young children living in a home where someone smoked. However, the percentage of children living in poverty increased, and the percentage of children with at least one parent employed full time, year-round decreased, the report said.