In recent decades a greater number of child advocates have begun using statistical data to improve the lives of children. At the same time more researchers and data analysts are using statistical data to provide a richer and more detailed understanding of children’s lives. Combining data, statistics, and scientific evidence with efforts to improve the quality of life for children and youth is called data-based child advocacy.

This entry provides an overview of the emerging area of data-based child advocacy and describes why data-based advocacy is so important for children. It includes a list of activities that fall into the data-based child advocacy category and highlights the benefits of this new conceptual framework.