As we’ve highlighted before, youth who commit status offenses, behaviors prohibited only by age, have better long-term outcomes when they are kept in their communities and receive appropriate services and support. Youth who run away, skip school, or self-medicate with alcohol are often responding to larger issues at home or in their...
WisKids Count
WisKids Count tracks, analyzes, synthesizes, and communicates data about the health and well-being of children and families in Wisconsin. WisKids Count is a part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count project which seeks to enrich local, state and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.
The Kids Count Data Center provides access to a wide range on data on indicators of child well-being in Wisconsin. Using the tools in the Data Center, you can easily create a profile of your county or school district. For more information on how to use the Kids Count Data Center, see our instructional presentation.
Affirming the need to focus on what helps children and youth succeed
Research and conversations on child and family well-being often focus on the risk factors that contribute to poor outcomes. Though it is critical to understand risk factors, it is equally important to understand protective factors. Protective factors are conditions or attributes of individuals, families, and communities that help buffer...
Dual-Status Youth: With a foot in both worlds, how can we work better to meet their needs?
WCCF has just released a policy brief titled We Can Do Better: Sharing Responsibility to Better Meet the Needs of Dual-Status Youth that outlines some of the challenges children and youth face if/when they end up identified by/involved with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. We know that a supportive and nurturing...
Teen Births in Wisconsin Sink to Historically Low Levels
May 7th is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, an event targeted at helping teens think ahead about what actions they can take to avoid pregnancy. The good news about teen births is that the numbers have dropped to historic lows, both in the US and in Wisconsin. The number of teen births in Wisconsin dropped by 42%...
The Dangers of Solitary Confinement and Isolation for Juveniles
Imagine being locked in a small, minimally furnished room with little or no natural light. There is limited human interaction, sometimes not even a book or school work to pass the time. In some places, this can last for hours, days, or weeks, even in Wisconsin. Local detention centers often use isolation as some version of a “time...
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