Preparing Indicators for Policymakers and Advocates

Abstract

Indicators are the focus of intense interest in the policy community, particularly economic indicators. For example, indicators about the state of the economy, such as the unemployment rate, the poverty rate, housing starts, and inflation, are not only tracked over time but are awaited with anticipation and urgency and reported in headline stories in the media. The state of the economy affects the outcomes of elections, and the decisions made by government, including decisions made by the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the executive branch. Moreover, the data available for economic indicators are very up-to-date—for example, unemployment in the preceding month. Many citizens and policymakers would argue, though, that the state of the economy is not the only marker of a successful society (Hauser et al., 1997). The well-being of children would also rank high among the factors that signal the health and future prospects of a society. Indeed, we would suggest that indicators of child well-being represent an important and complementary strategy for monitoring the success of a society. Though not as fully evolved or up-to-date as economic indicators, the field of child and youth well-being indicators has come a long way in recent years. For example, the United States Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (2001) produces an annual report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation has produced Kids Count to provide data at the state level for more than a decade. Given this progress, it is valuable to consider how indicators can be used correctly and effectively to inform public policy and program development by policymakers and advocates, as well as by the public. In the following sections, we highlight five hierarchical purposes of indicators and discuss the benefits and risks of using indicators for each of these purposes. We also suggest a number of criteria for using indicators so that they are both accurate and understandable, and briefly identify some presentation strategies that might help to communicate indicators of child well-being to policymakers.