Child Trends

03/13/2026

A recent Child Trends analysis of 2018–2022 American Community Survey (ACS) data finds that nearly one quarter (23.3%) of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children under age 18 lived with a grandparent. This number is nearly twice the percentage among all U.S. children (12.4%).
In addition to cultural practices related to intergenerational caregiving, grandparent co-residence may also reflect adaptive responses to family and community conditions. For instance, grandparents may serve as AIAN children’s primary or supporting caregivers due to either positive factors—such as temporary parental relocation to pursue employment or educational opportunities—or destabilizing factors, such as parental incarceration or experiences of unemployment and poverty.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/american-indian-alaska-native-children-grandparents

03/12/2026

In 2022, more than 2.5 million children were being raised in kinship care (i.e., by a grandparent, other relative, or close family friend). Despite the known benefits of kinship care for children whose parents are unable to care for them, U.S. child welfare agencies place, on average, just 31 percent of children in foster care with kin. Child Trends’ latest blog describes how creating and nurturing partnerships between public and private child welfare agencies can facilitate beneficial kinship placements (i.e., a kin-first culture) and increase supports for kinship families.

In 2022, more than 2.5 million children were being raised in kinship care (i.e., by a grandparent, other relative, or close family friend), with the vast majority in informal care arrangements—in other words, they were being raised outside of the foster care system. Despite the known benefits of...

03/11/2026

Generation Work™, launched by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2016, aimed to connect more of America’s young adults—including young people of color from families with low incomes—with meaningful employment by changing the ways in which public and private systems prepare them for success in the workplace. Child Trends served as a national partner from Generation Work’s inception, helping local partnerships integrate positive youth development approaches into their programming and their employer engagement efforts.

Through two phases, Generation Work combined best practices from the adult education and training fields with positive youth development practices. Positive youth development strategies allow young workers to identify their goals, build on their strengths, develop positive relationships with peers and adults, and contribute to work that feels meaningful.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/promising-practices-for-integrating-positive-youth-development-in-the-workplace

03/10/2026

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act continues to be the main source of federal funding for child welfare agencies, nationally. According to recent Child Trends analysis, in state fiscal year (SFY) 2022, agencies across the country spent $9.5 billion in Title IV-E funds—a 15 percent increase over the past decade, despite a recent decline since SFY 2020. States can use this funding stream to finance foster care placements, adoptions, guardianships, prevention services, and services for older youth transitioning out of foster care, and to cover a range of associated administrative costs.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/child-welfare-agencies-use-of-title-iv-e-funding-has-increased-since-2012

03/09/2026

Nearly one in three Maryland early care and education (ECE) workers receive health insurance through Medicaid or Medicare, according to new Child Trends analysis of survey data. Overall, the data highlight the importance of both public health insurance and the health insurance marketplace for Maryland’s ECE workforce.

More than 1,400 ECE workers responded to the survey. Nearly one third of ECE workers receive health insurance through Medicaid or Medicare. This includes 28% of center-based ECE workers and 33% of family child care workers.

March 5, 2026: We have updated footnote 3 to reflect that, nationally, 21 percent of ECE workers (not 28%) receive health insurance through their child care employer.

03/06/2026

What does it mean for a 3-year-old to be “healthy and ready to learn”? The Healthy and Ready to Learn (HRTL) measure provides answers. Using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), the HRTL measure captures development in five key domains, including social-emotional skills, self-regulation, and physical health.

Our new dashboard features the latest HRTL data from the NSCH, giving a clear picture of the developmental well-being of 3-year-olds. While this age group has often been overlooked in national data, we can now see how children are doing across the country.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/healthy-ready-learn-national-state-data-3-year-old-development

03/04/2026

Recent federal funding expansions have created opportunities to strategically harness the benefits of home visiting services for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children and families. Child Trends’ latest brief highlights opportunities to serve more AIAN families, align performance measures, and facilitate and enhance collaboration across programs that serve AIAN families in the same geographic region. Home visiting programs connect expectant and new parents of young children (typically birth to age 5) with a trained home visitor who helps families strengthen parenting skills, build their knowledge of child development, and connect with community resources.

This brief describes the landscape of home visiting within American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities and provides a brief overview of the federal investment in home visiting for AIAN families through the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program, which includes....

03/04/2026

Social media feeds, group chats, and online gaming spaces can sometimes expose boys to unkind or harmful interactions. For example, some jokes made in these spaces are intended to put someone down, encourage others to “pile on,” or gang up on someone. Over time, repeated exposure to—and social approval of—these behaviors can influence what boys perceive to be an acceptable way to treat others. Child Trends’ new resource shares guidance for parents on encouraging boys to be upstanders against harmful online behavior.

Social media feeds, group chats, and online gaming spaces can sometimes expose boys to unkind or harmful interactions. For example, some jokes made in these spaces are intended to put someone down, encourage others to “pile on,” or gang up on someone. Over time, repeated exposure to—and social...

03/03/2026

Participation in extended foster care allows a young person to stay in their current placement—for example, in a relative or non-relative foster home—or move to a less restrictive setting such as a supervised independent living placement (SILP). As of 2023, most youth (54%) in extended foster care lived in a SILP, such as an apartment or dorm. While SILPs provide youth more freedom to learn and grow, it is unclear whether these placements also provide them the supports they need during this time. A new Child Trends blog looks at placement types among youth in extended foster care and the supports they may (or may not) receive.

As of 2023, most of the youth (54%) in extended foster care were in a supervised independent living placement (SILP), like an apartment or dorm. While SILPs provide youth more freedom to learn and grow, it is unclear whether these placements also provide them with needed supports during this time. T...

03/02/2026

This Child Trends blog outlines five practical strategies that districts and schools can use to prepare teachers and students for an AI-driven future while building the infrastructure necessary to implement AI safely, responsibly, and at scale.
1. Lead proactively on AI before habits form.
2. Align technology, teaching, and policy to create coherent AI systems.
3. Equip students to understand, apply, and innovate with AI.
4. Invest in tools, training, and time to empower educators to lead AI adoption.
5. Pilot purposefully, measure progress, and scale what works.
https://www.childtrends.org/publications/five-lessons-prepare-students-teachers-ai

02/27/2026

Home visiting programs play a critical role in helping families strengthen parenting skills, nurture parent-child relationships, and promote healthy child growth and development. Home visiting is also well-positioned to address outcomes related to parent and child nutrition, though few home visiting programs have comprehensively targeted this issue. To learn more about how home visiting programs approach talking to families about nutrition, Child Trends staff conducted a literature scan and talked with members of the home visiting community about their experiences. Experts at Child Trends have extensive experience researching and supporting home visiting. Visit our new webpage that shares a conceptual framework, insights from home visiting program staff and families, and relevant research about nutrition in home visiting.

Home visiting programs play a critical role in helping families strengthen parenting skills, nurture parent-child relationships, and promote healthy child growth and development. Studies show that home visiting programs are successful in improving maternal and child outcomes related to birth weight,...

02/26/2026

Child Trends’ new brief for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Foster Youth Initiative—written by young people with lived experience in foster care—explores the systemic challenges foster youth face in pursuing their desired career paths and the authors' recommendations for strengthening career services and expanding opportunities for youth with foster care experience. Their recommendations include:

- Funding career development services and supports that focus on building relationships and mentorship
- Funding organizations to build youth skills in their areas of interest
- Leveraging the Foundation’s relationships and connections to create a portal with job opportunities

The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Foster Youth Initiative (the Initiative) aims to promote the well-being and future success of young people who have experienced foster care in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City, and nationally.[1] As the Initiative’s evaluation partner, Child Trends assesses p...