The Annie E Casey Foundation has created a Race Matters Toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help decision-makers, advocates, and elected officials get better results in their work by providing equitable opportunities for all.

16% (approximately 226,000) of Washington’s children under 18 live below the federal poverty level. The 226,000 children living in poverty would form a continuous line along the entire length of I-5 in Washington. Read the Child Poverty Fact Sheet.

In 2008, the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA), where youth committing serious offenses are held, reported that more than 60% of youth held in JRA facilities have “significant mental health issues,” and 85% of the youth in residential care are substance abusers or chemically dependent. Click on the attached fact sheet to read more about juvenile justice in Washington.

Many low-income parents skip meals so that their children can eat. At one Spokane food bank, 60% of parents said they skipped meals to give their children food. Click on the attached fact sheet to learn more about childhood hunger in Washington.

The number of Washington children without health insurance dropped from 167,000 children in 2001 to 73,000 in 2006. In the first year after the Cover All Kids law went into effect in 2007, 40,000 of those children were covered. Click on the attached fact sheet to read more about children's health in Washington.

Washington State’s foster care system is currently subject to improvements mandated by the settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed in 1998. Under the direction of an outside panel (the Braam Oversight Panel) created in 2004, the state must meet agreed-upon benchmarks for improving placement stability, mental health services, foster parent training and information, safety and appropriateness of foster care placements, sibling separation and services to adolescents. Click on the attached fact sheet for more information about foster care in Washington.

Less than half of the state’s incoming kindergarteners are adequately prepared to succeed in school, and students in low-income communities tend to be even less prepared. Among the lowest income kindergarten classrooms in the state, only 25% of students are considered ready for kindergarten. Click on the attached fact sheet for more information about early learning in Washington.

1 out of 5 Washington children are children of color. Broken out by racial group, 6.2% of the state’s 1.5 million children are Asian/Pacific Islander, 5.9% are multi-racial, 4.3% are African American and 2.2% are Native American. Click on the attached fact sheet for more information about children of color in Washington.

Overweight children have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. Click on the attached fact sheet for more information about childhood obesity.