METHODOLOGY
The 1995 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook provides data for twenty indicators of child well-being. The data are presented in three different ways:
Numbers
The most direct measure of the scope of a problem is the count of the number of events of concern during a specified time period – e.g. the number of child deaths between 1987 and 1992.
Numbers are important in assessing the scope of the problem and in estimating the resources required to address a problem. Numbers are not useful to compare the severity of the problem from one geographic area to another or to compare the extent of the problem in your state with national standards. For example, a state with more children might have more low birthweight infants due to the larger number of total births, not due to an increased likelihood of being born low birthweight.
Rates and Percents
A rate is a measure of the probability of an event – e.g. out of every 1,000 live births, how many infants will die before their first birthday?
A percent is another measure of the probability of an event – e.g. out of every 100 births, how many will be born low birthweight?
Rates and percents take into account the total population of children eligible for an event and therefore, are useful in comparing the severity of the problem from one geographic area to another, to compare with state or national standard or to look at trends over time.
Sources of Data and Methodology for Calculating Rates and Percents
For each indicator, the source of information for the actual number of events of interest (the “numerator”) are identified within the Definition and Notes to Table sections for each indicator.
For each indicator that uses a rate or a percent, the following outlines the methodology used to estimate the total number of children eligible for the indicator of interest (i.e. the “denominator”). Rates and percentages were not calculated for cities and towns with denominators less than 500, as rates and percentages for small denominators are statistically unreliable. We have indicated “NA” in the indicator table when this occurs.
Child Population, Children in Single Parent Families, Children in Poverty. The denominator is the number of children under age 18 according to the 1990 Census of Population.
Children Receiving Public Assistance. The denominator is the number of children ages one to thirteen according to the 1990 Census of Population, plus the four times the average number of births for the years 1987 to 1991.
Delayed Prenatal Care, Low Birthweight Infants, Infant Mortality. The denominator is the total number of live births to Rhode Island residents from 1987 to 1991.
Births to Unmarried Teens. The denominator is the number of girls ages 15 through 19 according to the 1990 Census of Population, multiplied by four to compute a rate over four years, 1988 to 1991.
Women and Children Receiving WIC. The denominator is the number of children under age 5 who live in families with an income less than 185% of poverty, according to the 1990 Census of Population. This is an estimate of the eligible population and does not take into account increases in the number of women and children who became income eligible between 1990 and 1995.
Children Receiving School Lunch. The denominator is the number of children enrolled in the public school system, not including half-day kindergarten.
Children with Lead Poisoning. The denominator is the total number of children born between September 1, 1990 and August 31, 1991. This is an estimate of the number of children age three on September 1, 1994 and therefore eligible to begin school in the Fall of 1996. The denominators for the town data are based on residence at time of birth, not at time of lead screening, and therefore are estimates that do not account for changes in residence during the first three years of life.
Child Deaths. The denominator is the number of children ages 1 to 14 according to the 1990 Census of Population, multiplied by five to compute a rate over five years, 1987 to 1991.
Teen Deaths. The denominator is the number of teens ages 15 to 19 according to the 1990 Census of Population, multiplied by five to calculate a rate over five years, 1987 to 1991.
Juveniles Referred to Family Court. The denominator is the number of children ages 10 to 17 according to the 1990 Census of Population.
Child Abuse and Neglect. The denominator is the number of children under the age of 21 according to the 1990 Census of Population.
Children Enrolled in Head Start. The denominator is the number of children ages 3 and 4 who lived in families receiving AFDC in 1994. This is an underestimate because it does not include children eligible for Head Start who live in non-AFDC families living below the poverty line.
High School Graduation Rate. The denominator is the number of children enrolled in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades in the Fall of 1992.
Teens Not in School and Not in the Labor Force. The denominator is the number of teens ages 16 to 19 according to the 1990 Census of Population.
LIMITATIONS
In any data collection process there are always concerns about the accuracy and completeness of the data being collected. All data used in the 20 indicators were collected through the U.S. Bureau of the Census and through routine data collection systems operated by different agencies of the state of Rhode Island. We do not have estimates of the completeness of reporting to these systems.
In all cases, we used the most reliable data currently available. We expect that over time the data used to assess child well-being in Rhode Island will be more timely and will contain more complete information on the state’s racial and ethnic communities than is currently available.
[Table of Contents] [ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
