Working for Children: Kids Count Alaska

Abstract

Many Americans are worried about children in the U.S. growing up in poverty, in broken homes, and in dangerous neighborhoods. Policymakers and others with responsibilities for children's well-being need reliable information about conditions affecting children. Alaska in 1990 had relatively few babies born with low birth weights (which can mean developmental problems later), with little regional variation. The share of children in poverty statewide in 1990 was 11 percent, but regional shares varied from 6 to 24 percent. More than one in five Alaska families were headed by single parents in 1990, with the regional share as high as one in three. Overall, we hope the indicators compiled and disseminated by Kids Count Alaska will become an important tool that Alaskans in public and private life can use in developing policies and programs to help children and families.