In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Andrew Schaefer, and Douglas Gagnon explore challenges and opportunities for youth in Southwestern (SW) Minnesota. They analyze data on various demographic, economic, educational, and social indicators to gain a better understanding of the circumstances youth face and the opportunity available in SW…

The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

This document reports on a voluntary survey designed to compare responses of adolescents in corrections with adolescents in public schools in 1998. Findings are highlighted in sections entitled: (1) "Youth, Their Families, and Their Environment"; (2) "Psychological Distress"; (3) "Sexual Activity"; (4) "School…

This report highlights findings from the 1998 Minnesota Student Survey, administered to 3,791 voluntary participants, comparing students in alternative school settings with those in public schools. Alternative schools and area learning centers are high school diploma granting programs designed for students who are behind in their work, have…

During the 1990s, an increasing number of states have become interested in social indicators as basic tools of governance. Many states have been working aggressively to develop programs and initiatives that make systematic use of social indicators, and to develop the underlying data system to measure and track such indicators. This report reviews…

This report uses text, graphs, and tables to present findings of a 1996 survey of 575 adolescents voluntarily participating in residential behavioral treatment facilities in Minnesota. Compared with public school students, these adolescents were: 62 percent male, more likely to be of color, especially American Indian, and twice as likely as other…

Minnesota Planning developed the Children's Report Card in 1994 to help the state and its 87 counties gauge the well-being of Minnesota's children and youth. The report was created as an extension of Minnesota Milestones, a long-range plan for the state and a tool to measure results which was developed by Minnesota Planning in 1992. For the first…

This report was developed by Minnesota Planning to help counties measure their progress toward meeting the Minnesota Milestones goals for social and educational services for children. The report card is composed of 21 indicators of children's well-being. Since the 1994 report card was released, Minnesota has made progress in eight areas (1) abused…