room for improvement in child well-being index
by Riana Lewis, Contributing Editor, Research and Analysis
According to the 2008 Foundation for Child Development, U.S. children’s quality of life has been growing slowly over an eight-year period (1994 to 2002). The Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI) Report covers the economic well-being of families, the health and safety of children, and children’s school attendance and performance. The foundation’s study projects a higher score for the 2007 U.S. CWI in comparison with CWI scores from the mid-1990s, and believes that there is room for improvement. The foundation also argues that the housing finance crisis, rising inflation, and job loss problems of 2007 and 2008 will likely have a negative impact on the numerous well-being areas affecting the overall CWI score
The Agency for Workforce Innovation understands the negative impact that economical and social problems have on families and their children. The mission of the Agency is to advance the economic well-being and self-sufficiency of all Floridians through premier early learning and workforce services. As studies report, children in early learning programs are more likely to graduate from high school, less likely to commit crimes as adolescents and adults, and are likely to break the cycle of poverty by achieving employment and higher incomes than children that did not participate in an early learning program.
The Agency is directly involved in improving the well-being of Florida’s children by providing workforce services to parents, and early learning services for their children. For example, Florida’s VPK programs contribute to the overall well-being of the state’s children in the areas of health, safety, educational attainment, and school participation.
As the Florida Department of Education reported, VPK children who participated in the 2006-2007 program, tested as being more ready for kindergarten than other children attending kindergarten for the first time (Florida Department of Education. Overview of the 2006-2007 Preliminary VPK Provider Kindergarten Readiness Rates).
A more detailed discussion of these scores was presented at the 2008 One Goal Conference. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it.
