The latest “KIDS COUNT in Delaware” report, issued this week, provides current, comprehensive data on children as they relate to some of the most pressing issues facing the state: health, education, crime and the economy.

The report is a collaborative effort of more than 40 organizations and is issued by KIDS COUNT in Delaware, which is housed in the University of Delaware’s Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS), part of the School of Public Policy and Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The report is the singular account of every child under 18 in the state, according to Janice Barlow, director of KIDS COUNT in Delaware and a policy scientist with CCRS. It examines issues, highlights trends and ultimately serves as a critical tool for informed, empirically based policy decisions, she said.

“Data allow us to monitor what’s happening with our kids,” Barlow said. “We began this work 22 years ago with the belief that decisions should be made on accurate, reliable, accessible data. That’s still the driving force behind why we do what we do.”

This year’s Fact Book highlights Adverse Childhood Experiences, commonly referred to as ACEs. ACEs research demonstrates that the negative impact of child trauma doesn’t end in childhood, but often have effects into adulthood, which can impact society in negative ways.

The good news, researchers say, is that protective factors such as safe, stable and nurturing relationships can help to mitigate long-term impacts of ACEs.

Worrisome data include Delaware’s rate of children living in poverty, Barlow said. At 18.5 percent for 2014-16, it remains higher than the 16.9 percent rate reported five years ago.

Economic hardship is one of the most common ACEs reported in Delaware. Disparities in outcomes across a variety of measures — including infant mortality and low birth weight, as well as academic proficiency and graduation rate — are further cause for concern, the report notes.

This year’s Fact Book data show that Delaware’s children are the most racially and ethnically diverse generation ever, a shift that mirrors the national trend.

“We know that race and ethnicity are connected to measurable differences in how children are understood and treated, their life experiences and consequently their well-being and outcomes,” Barlow said. “Only by identifying and measuring disparity will we be able to address it.”

The annual Fact Book also highlights several indicators where trends are getting better. Delaware children continue to progress in the area of health, and the percentage of low-birth-weight births and the infant mortality rate continue to decline.

Delaware also has fewer children lacking health insurance (5.6 percent in 2014-16 compared with 8.0 percent five years earlier). The rate of teen births has continued a long-term decreasing trend, dropping to 27.6 per 1,000 in 2010-14, from 41.1 per 1,000 in 2005-09.

Additionally, graduation rates rose in multiple segments of the student population, including race, gender, income and disability status.

Children’s experiences today shape the adults that they will grow into tomorrow, impacting our collective long-term success, Barlow said, adding that it is critical to measure and to understand the conditions in which children live so that we can invest our time, effort and resources in ways that will ensure the best return on investment for Delaware.

The report is now available at the Delaware KIDS COUNT website.

Additional information is available at the national KIDS COUNT website, which contains the most recent national, state and local data on hundreds of indicators of child well-being. The Data Center allows users to create rankings, maps and graphs for use in publications and on websites, and to view real-time information on mobile devices.