The Well-Being of California’s Children

This report looks at how children in California and the rest of the nation are faring along four important dimensions of child development: physical health, emotional and behavioral adjustment, attachment to school, and positive social involvement. The authors examine how these indicators vary by children’s gender, age, race/ethnicity, family income, and parental nativity and education. It appears that a substantial minority of California children may not be adequately served by existing services. For the most part, these children come from the poorest families, have parents with low levels of educational attainment, or live in Hispanic immigrant households. Compared to children in the rest of the nation, those in California appear to be faring slightly worse on a number of indicators of well-being.