This guest post was written by Sarah Marxer, kidsdata.org’s former data manager, and also is posted on KQED’s Perspectives page.

As an adoptive mother, I had a complicated reaction to this year’s federal report on the status of children, which has a special focus on adopted children. Its most striking finding is that while just 12 percent of all children have a physical or mental health problem, that figure is 29 percent for adopted children in general and 45 percent for children who, like my child, were in foster care before their adoption.

Despite my worry that sharing this information will stigmatize adopted kids, I want to make sure that we don’t miss this chance to learn something important about the ways that intensely stressful conditions early in life affect children. This report ought to raise alarm about the ways our tolerance for poverty harms the life chances of too many kids — most of whom are not adopted.

Researchers are learning that abuse, neglect and other forms of trauma during childhood — including poverty and exposure to community violence — affect many aspects of health throughout life. The findings about the compromised health of adopted children bear this out.

Today, the majority of domestically and internationally adopted kids, particularly those who have been in foster care, have endured things that hurt their chances for healthy development — including deprivation, abuse and disrupted relationships. Most adopted children thrive, but a substantial minority has significant emotional, physical or developmental problems. The ones most likely to struggle are those who experienced the greatest stresses in their early years.

With adequate resources, even children who’ve had a hard start in life can flourish. These insights should spur us to make it a priority that vulnerable children and their families — adoptive or not — get the help they need, and to reorder our priorities so that families don’t have to raise their kids in unsafe and chronically stressful conditions.

See data on kidsdata.org about children adopted from foster care.

Posted by kidsdata.org

Good news – we have embraced new mapping technology here at kidsdata.org. Our maps now are compatible with iPhones/iPads and other devices that are not flash-friendly. At your next meeting, you can pull up the facts you need from kidsdata on your iPad or other mobile device.

Our maps now are not only compatible with these devices, but also printer-friendly. These full color, compelling maps make interesting handouts or packet inserts (and they are free, like everything on kidsdata.org). Simply navigate to any map of interest and use your browser’s “Print” function to get a printout of the map. See below for a few examples of the different types of maps on kidsdata.org.

Visiting your legislator? Take along a map of child poverty in your district.	Print this map of Latino student enrollment in CA public schools.	Make a case for special education in your school district with customized handouts.

Posted by Jordan Handcox

Recently, in partnership with the HealthDATA program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, we offered a day-long workshop about finding and using child health data.

Now, we’re pleased to be offering a second workshop, this time in Colton on Friday, Oct. 14.

At this FREE workshop, you’ll learn how to formulate data questions, interpret results, export data for analysis, and use your findings in reports, presentations, proposals, and policy/program planning. Working directly with kidsdata.org, attendees will learn simple tips for obtaining health information for every city, legislative district, county, and school district in the state.

For more information, or to register, visit http://www.kidsdata.org/content/ucla-inland/Default.aspx.

Posted by kidsdata.org

Governor Jerry Brown signed into law several bills affecting child health and well being  before the constitutional deadline at midnight last night, including:

• SB 946 Health care coverage: pervasive developmental disorder or autism. This bill, introduced by Senators Steinberg and Evans, will require private health care service plans and health insurers to provide coverage for behavioral health treatment for persons with autism spectrum and certain other related pervasive developmental disorders. (see data on autism)
• AB 1088 State agencies: collection of demographic data. This bill, introduced by Assembly Member Eng, will require the Department of Industrial Relations and the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to collect demographic data on additional Asian and Pacific Islander groups. See a previous Data Points blog post, “How Can We Better Measure California’s Child Diversity?” for a related discussion. Related data also are available on kidsdata.org.
• AB 1156 Pupils: bullying. This bill, introduced by Assembly Member Eng, encourages the inclusion of policies and procedures aimed at the prevention of bullying in comprehensive school safety plans. (see data on bullying)
• SB 746 Tanning facilities. This bill, introduced by Senator Lieu, will prohibit minors from using tanning beds. (see data about California teens)

Posted by Jordan Handcox

We meet with people all over California, introducing them to kidsdata.org. In nearly all of those meetings, we hear this common question: WHO uses kidsdata?

Because we can all use kidsdata.org anonymously, that is a difficult question to answer. So, we’ve decided to ask you, the users. We’re not out to gather any personal information — we’d just like to know two quick things: your primary affiliation, and how you plan to use the information you find on kidsdata.

Your response will be extremely valuable, and will help us shape the future content and enhancements on kidsdata.org.

Take the poll>>

Posted by Felicity Simmons