Concerned about changes and loss of federal data? Us too! To stay up to date on changes to federal data and opportunities to take action, we invite you to follow and subscribe to dataindex.us (dataindex.us/newsletter/s...) and the Association of Public Data Users (tinyurl.com/apdunews).

Miss the webinar The Day Federal Data Went Dark: A Year of Monitoring and Action? Catch up with materials below. Recording: tinyurl.com/data-monitor... Slide Deck: tinyurl.com/data-monitor... Organization Briefing Book: tinyurl.com/data-monitor... Q&A: tinyurl.com/data-monitor...

Number of California Kids at a 30-Year Low, and Projected to Continue Dropping www.kidsdata.org/topic/32/chi...

KidsData in the News! Latinos in the San Joaquin Valley Face Higher Obesity Rates Than Non-Latinos. That Carries Broad Health Implications. themercedfocus.org/latinos-in-t...

UNIDOS US: 80% of Latino children live in households with at least one working class adult. That is 16.8 million young people. www.prb.org/resources/re...

California’s Health Care Safety Net Catches More Than Half of All Kids Together with the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid pays for almost half of all births nationwide and is the largest source of health insurance for children. www.kidsdata.org/blog/

JAMA Health Forum on Variability in Insurance Adequacy for CSHCN Covered by Medicaid Medicaid is the primary insurer for nearly half of CSHCN, however there is substantial variability in the quality and continuity of coverage across states. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

California’s kids face a host of unique challenges. The 2026 Report Card grades the State on its performance supporting better outcomes for kids, from prenatal to age 26, across 30 wide-ranging issues affecting them. www.childrennow.org/portfolio-po...

A newly issued data brief from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau provides 2022–2023 updates on the experiences of CYSHCN from the National Survey of Children’s Health. mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/defaul...

TOMORROW 2/4, @11a.m. PT, the California School-Based Health Alliance will host a webinar: Improving Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Through Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs): A Special Session With California’s Surgeon General us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Across much of the country, kids had school days off because of snow and cold last week. But California kids miss school for closures too. Check out the California Matters Disaster Days resource for more: disasterdays.calmatters.org/california-s...

Over half of US children experience complex social and relational health risks - 2/3 of those with a mental health condition. Learn more from the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative's Whole Child Risk Index. www.childhealthdata.org/browse/surve...

Snowed in? Experts say snow days are good for children's wellbeing. wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2026...

National Academy for State Health Policy: Nearly two-thirds (31) of all states cover behavioral health therapy for children and youth, regardless of whether they have a diagnosed behavioral disorder, through at least one benefit. nashp.org/state-medica...

The prevalences of chronic conditions and obesity have been increasing among children in the United States. HRSA Data Brief highlights results from the National Survey of Children’s Health on Healthy Behaviors Among School-aged Children mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/defaul...

A new Pediatric JAMA article addresses the question: What are overall and out-of-pocket behavioral health expenditures for US children, and how have they changed over time? jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

KFF: As routine and seasonal vaccination rates continue to decline among children, racial disparities in vaccination rates persist. Recent Changes in Children’s Vaccination Rates by Race and Ethnicity : www.kff.org/racial-equit...

2026 First 5 California Summit: Their Futures First August 31-September 2 Anaheim, CA Early registration now open Connect with a diverse network of hundreds of professionals representing all 58 California counties, along with guests from across the nation. first5ca.events.whova.com/registration

WEBINAR Improving Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs): A Special Session with California's Surgeon General 2/4/26 @2PM ET us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is up for renewal and public comments are due today! tinyurl.com/PRAMS-submit... Informational Webinar Slides: tinyurl.com/PRAMS-webina... PRAMS Federal Register Notice: tinyurl.com/PRAMS-FRN

Children Now Webinar: Using the 2026 CA Children’s Report Card to Drive Change Wed, Jan 21 10:30–11:30 am PT Register: tinyurl.com/mshp6cz6 The webinar will provide an overview of the trends in children’s health, education, online safety, and child welfare, and how to drive change.

MHS Dashboard Children and Youth Demographic Datasets These datasets are based on the children and youth (under age 21) beneficiary population and consist of aggregate Mental Health Service data derived from Medi-Cal claims, encounter, and eligibility systems. data.chhs.ca.gov/dataset/chil...

The tools we use to identify disability matter. But what does this mean in the lives of children and their families? How does the way we identify disability affect a child’s life, education, resources, services, and so much more? lpfch.org/impact-stori...

1 in 6 That’s the number of children in California who lived in a household experiencing food insecurity in 2023, up from around one in eight in 2020. This rate translates to over 1.4 million kids—more than the total child population of Massachusetts or Missouri. www.kidsdata.org/blog/?p=11366

Even small actions, taken together, can help strengthen the case for the importance of public data to our shared future. Here are Five Things You Can Do to Protect Public Data: www.prb.org/articles/fiv...

WEBINAR: Improving Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) through Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs): A Special Session with California's Surgeon General Feb 4, 2026 11:00 AM Pacific For more info and to register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

CalFresh served nearly 5.5 million Californians, including nearly 2 million children, in July 2024. See KidsData for policy options to boost nutrition program access, participation, and benefits for children and families in need. www.kidsdata.org/topic/39/foo...

Rapid Response Webinar: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Join this webinar to learn: What's in PRAMS. Why PRAMS is important. What at risk. How you can take action to protect this critical public resource. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi... Thursday, January 8 2:00 pm ET

The California Index of Child and Youth Well-Being applies the national CWI to California, in order to assess how children overall in California -- as well as in specific demographic groups and regions -- have been faring. www.kidsdata.org/index/whatis...

Water Safety, Everywhere Drowning is a leading cause of death for young children worldwide—and one of the most preventable. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/water-s...

Did you know? From 2023 to 2024, current use of any tobacco product declined among high school students from 12.6% to 10.1%, largely driven by the decline in high school e-cigarette use (from 10.0% to 7.8%). www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Mental Health in the Scroll Age: What is digital life doing to young minds? Nearly 1 in 5 youth ages 12–17 have experienced a major depressive episode in the past year; 20% report anxiety symptoms in the past two weeks. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/mental-...

The Geography of Chronic Absenteeism Students experience chronic absenteeism from coast to coast. 20 states reported that more than 30% of their students missed at least three weeks of school in 2022-23 www.ed.gov/teaching-and...

Cannabis and Breastfeeding: What’s the Harm? Increasing legalization and scant research on today’s cannabis products complicate guidance for nursing mothers. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/cannabi...

Chronic Absenteeism: An Overlooked Vital Sign Chronic school absenteeism is a national crisis—for education and for public health. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/chronic...

Food insecurity occurs when a household cannot access enough food due to a lack of money and other essential resources. In 2023, over 14% of people in the U.S. were food insecure. map.feedingamerica.org/county/2023/...

A new study published in Pediatrics finds that reversal in pediatric guidance about giving peanuts to babies has helped to push peanuts out of the No. 1 spot as the cause of food allergy for children under 3 in the U.S. publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

IN THE NEWS Hepatitis B: What parents should know about the virus and the vaccine www.npr.org/sections/sho...

The Census Bureau is seeking comments on proposed revisions to the National Survey of Children’s Health which provide key data on the physical, emotional, and social health of children in the US. Your input can help improve data quality. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... Due 2/3/2026

Governor Newsom announces top former CDC officials to lead the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange, a new California-led initiative to modernize public health infrastructure and maintain trust in science-driven decision-making. www.gov.ca.gov/2025/12/15/g...

Gains and Losses in Children’s Health Data snapshots show hopeful—and worrying—trends in U.S. kids’ health. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/gains-a...

State Snapshots of Infant and Toddler Early Care and Education Nationwide, the current supply of infant and toddler early care and education (ECE) does not meet demand, and the costs of care are unaffordable for many families. Read more at www.urban.org/data-tools/s...

Ask a Data Question Have a question about kidsdata.org? Looking for a specific statistic? Post your question for our experts and others to address. www.kidsdata.org/blog/?page_i...

8 Ways to Keep American Kids Healthy These proven strategies help kids thrive and lay the foundation for healthy adulthoods. magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/8-ways-...

Ongoing Threats to Public Health Programs for Children and Families Despite the government shutdown ending, important public health programs continue to be at risk. ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/11/04/t...

A new resource from the California Essentials for Childhood Initiative looks at how PCEs shape behavioral health outcomes in adulthood and describes strategies to promote positive experiences, environments, and relationships during the early years. t.e2ma.net/click/1md6qi...

The Family CNA Model: How Medicaid Can Help Improve Outcomes for Children with Medical Complexity A recent webinar hosted by Manatt Health featured the Family Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Model discussed the benefits of the CNA Model. t.e2ma.net/click/hahqhv...

Food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or CalFresh in California) provide a safety net to help low-income children and their families access adequate nutrition. www.prb.org/articles/wha...

U.S. Government Cancels Survey Showing Rising Food Insecurity - In response to the USDA’s recent decision to stop collecting data on household food insecurity, KidsData is exploring alternative sources for measuring childhood food insecurity in CA. What are your favorite sources for this data?

Latinos in the San Joaquin Valley Face Higher Obesity Rates Than Non-Latinos. That Carries Broad Health Implications. A Merced FOCUS story about obesity rates in San Joaquin Valley counties cites KidsData’s indicators of students who are overweight or obese. themercedfocus.org/latinos-in-t...