GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT
Trenton Kids Count 2019 Report
Good data drives smart decisions.
“Kids Count is a one-stop shop for data, allowing readers to assess trends impacting our children. It is ACNJ’s hope that the Trenton policy makers and community members examine the data and expand what’s working and find solutions to what isn’t, in order to make a measurable difference for children”
– Cecilia Zalkind, President and Chief Executive Officer, Advocates for Children of New Jersey
Report Highlights
The city of Trenton saw an 11% increase in its child population from 2013 to 2017, while the total city population remained consistent over the same time period.
The number of children in Trenton living in extreme poverty (defined as below 50% of FPL) increased by 31% between 2013 and 2017 (3,337 to 4,366).
The unemployment rate in Trenton has decreased by 43% between 2014-2018.
The number of women receiving late or no prenatal care increased by 55% from 2013 to 2017. (530 to 821)
The percentage of reported children with substantiated/established findings of abuse/neglect in Trenton decreased from 17.4 to 5.0 between 2013-2017.
The Trenton Kids Count report was produced by Advocates for Children of New Jersey in June 2019
Report Summary
That line of thinking is what informs the work of Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), an independent, nonpartisan organization that works with local, state, and federal leaders to identify and implement changes to benefit New Jersey’s children. And it’s why The Burke Foundation has partnered with ACNJ to fund Trenton Kids Count, a report providing a snapshot of local child well-being in the state’s capital city.
The Kids Count initiative, a state-by-state effort created by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, provides high-quality data and trend analysis on the well-being of children in the United States in order to affect conversation and change around local, state, and national public policy. Kids Count is a premier source of data on children and families. The reports inform policymakers, advocates, grant-makers, and the public and help to influence critical decisions and raise the visibility of children’s issues through a nonpartisan, evidence-based lens.
The city of Trenton is home to 85,000 New Jersey residents. Having not been the focus of a Kids Count report since 2001, ACNJ and The Burke Foundation recognized this opportunity to gather new, up-to-date information and shine a light on the issues facing Trenton communities in an effort to improve programs and policies for children and families.
Goals of the report, which was co-funded by The Smith Family Foundation, include:
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Providing a reliable benchmark of child well-being for Trenton’s youngest residents;
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Bringing key Trenton stakeholders together around shared metrics and goals; and
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Strengthening the Trenton community as a whole by providing local nonprofits with data to influence and enhance their programming and potentially secure additional funding.
Following the release of Trenton Kids Count, The Burke Foundation will be well positioned to better identify areas of need for the Trenton community and, alongside community members and other nonprofits, organize initiatives to affect change around these issues.
Trenton Kids Count
Programs in Action
Now Available
Community Conversations: A Summary
Moving the Needle Forward for Trenton’s Children
Motivated by the TKC event and report, stakeholders invited community members to help improve the well-being of the city’s children. From July to August 2019, ACNJ presented at six forums throughout Mercer County, known as Community Conversations. Each forum focused on different issue areas found throughout the book, such as education, health, family economic well-being and the availability of child care resources. Attendees were briefed on the material and then divided into small groups in order to discuss critical issues and propose solutions.
