Child Trends

In the Beginning

Child Trends was founded in 1979 by the Foundation for Child Development, a national private philanthropy concerned with the prevention of child poverty and the promotion of economic security for families. At the time, little reliable, comprehensive national data existed on the living circumstances, experiences, health, cognition, and social and emotional development of America's children (Hetherington, 1999). As a way to begin to remedy this situation, the foundation sought to bring a child development perspective to large-scale survey research so that a clearer picture of the well-being of America's children would begin to emerge.

Orville Gilbert Brim Jr., then president of the Foundation for Child Development, and Nicholas Zill, who was to become the first executive director of Child Trends, together gave birth to the idea of an organization that would provide that child development perspective. They also saw the tremendous value of using findings from such research to inform public policy on children. The name they came up with for the organization they envisioned was “Child Trends,” in keeping with the intent that the new organization would track trends in child well-being over the years.

Surveys and Indicators

Much of Child Trends' early efforts were directed at improving information on children and their families derived from survey research. For example, Child Trends was involved in continuing the work of the pioneering National Survey of Children, which yielded important new information on the development of American children over time. The survey fielded its first wave in 1976 (on preadolescent children), its second wave in 1981 (on adolescents), and its third wave in 1987 (on youth making the transition to young adulthood). This effort broke new ground for research on children through its use of rigorous scientific methods among large and representative samples. These methods included using national, multistage probability samples, multi-item scales with good psychometric properties, and multiple informants, including children, parents, and teachers.

Involvement with the National Survey on Children was just the start. Through the years, Child Trends has provided expert advice on new and existing national surveys to ensure that they generate data on key issues that affect children's well-being. For example, Child Trends pressed for the addition of child supplements to the National Health Interview Survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which had not previously included measures on the children of respondents. Child Trends also helped to conceptualize and develop measures for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) and helped outline the methodology that is the basis for the father involvement component of the ECLS-B design.

...