Our Programs — The Data Book
The first KIDS COUNT Data Book was published in 1992 and quickly became the most respected source of data and analysis about the plight of West Virginia's children. KIDS COUNT Fund has continued to publish the yearly report, tracking key indicators of the health, education, safety and security, and economic conditions of children both on a statewide and county-by-county basis. The Data Book is often the basis of public policy decisions and is also an important resource for those who seek and award funding from foundations and the private sector.
Eight of the twelve key Data Book indicators of child well-being have shown solid improvement since the start of the new millennium. The most dramatic improvements have been in the percent of eligible children served by Head Start (a 23.4% improvement) and the juvenile delinquency case rate (an 18.2% improvement). However, three important indicators of child well-being have gotten worse. The percent of low birth-weight babies increased from 8.4% in 2000 to 9.6% in 2007, a worsening of 13.7%. The percent of children approved for free and reduced price school meals increased from 49.5% in 2000 to 53.6% in 2007, a worsening of 8.4% and evidence of increasing child poverty. And, the percent of high school dropouts increased from 16.4% in 2000 to 17.0% in 2007a a worsening of 3.7%. Click here to download the complete 2009 Data Book. 
Click here to download the 2009 Data Book Essay, "The Kids First Communities Campaign: A Playbook for Early Child Development Policy Change."The essay outlines KIDS COUNT's successful campaign to advocate for legislations creating a childcare quality rating and improvement system in West Virginia.
Click here to go directly to the West Virginia page of the new KIDS COUNT Data Center.
County-Level Data On Kids
Click here to view the county-level data on kids.