A Single, Trusted Source for Children’s Health Data

Children’s health can look different depending on where a child lives. Coverage rates, access to care, and health needs vary widely across states.

Policymakers, researchers, and the public need to understand these differences to make effective policy and public health decisions for children’s health.

That’s why the Children’s Hospital association created the State of Children’s Health dashboard, a comprehensive, interactive resource that provides important children’s health data in one place.

Using data from trusted national sources, the dashboard makes it easy to see how children are faring, where challenges persist, and how conditions differ by state and congressional district.

The result is a powerful advocacy tool for children’s health.

Policymakers can easily see the needs and gaps unique to children in their state or district, whether they are developing legislation, considering a sign-on letter, or drafting talking points to build a case for putting kids first.

Researchers and journalists can use consistent, place-based data to analyze patterns and tell more accurate, informed stories about children’s health. And hospitals and health systems can better understand the communities they serve.

In short, it’s a single source of truth driving better decisions for our nation’s kids.

Crucial data in one place

Rather than requiring users to navigate multiple federal or research websites, the dashboard brings key pediatric health measures together in one place.

Illustrating the data through an interactive dashboard makes it easy to see patterns, compare communities, and interpret differences across states and districts.

The dashboard focuses on core indicators that shape children’s health and well‑being:

• Health insurance coverage
• Access to health care services
• Special health care needs
• Access to mental/behavioral health treatment
• Child population size
• Household income and poverty indicators at congressional level
• And many more

At the state level, users can compare many of these measures with national averages. At the congressional district level, the dashboard highlights child population characteristics and Medicaid and CHIP coverage.

Together, these views provide a clearer picture of how children’s health and access to care vary across geography, and why those differences matter.

Single source, universal use

The State of Children’s Health dashboard brings together credible pediatric health data in a format that is open, interactive, and straightforward to navigate.

Users can tailor what they see based on their needs, whether they want to focus on a single state, compare data across congressional districts within a state, or look more closely at individual congressional districts.

This flexibility makes the dashboard useful across many contexts, from policy research and legislative preparation to reporting, education, and community planning.

By serving all of these audiences, the dashboard helps create a shared factual foundation for discussions about children’s health across disciplines and sectors.

Resource for action

As CHA continually updates and refines the dashboard, it serves as a central advocacy resource for understanding where children are thriving, where challenges persist, and how those patterns differ across states and communities.

CHA encourages anyone who works with, studies, reports on, or makes decisions affecting children to explore the dashboard and use it as a resource for action.

Explore the State of Children’s Health dashboard.