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WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new report that examines the state of child well-being in North America – Growing Up in North America: Child Well-Being in Canada, the United States and Mexico – reveals that gains in human development across the continent have not kept pace with the last decade’s dramatic advances in technology, trade, and investment. In this first-of-its-kind report issued today, the three project partners – the Canadian Council on Social Development, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México – call for attention to child well-being against a backdrop of economic and social change in North America. Growing Up in North America: Child Well-Being in Canada, the United States and Mexico is based on the premise that measuring and monitoring the well-being of children and analysing sound data pave the way for providing decision makers with evidence on how youth have been profoundly affected by economic and social integration. "The children of North America matter," says Katherine Scott, a member of the Canadian project partner team and head of research for the Canadian Council for Social Development. "Individually and collectively, each country must ensure that children have primary consideration when their governments assess the impact of social and health policies, immigration policy, and economic and trade decisions." "The Annie E. Casey Foundation is proud to be one of the Project Partners," says William O’Hare, senior fellow at the Foundation, "as this report relates closely to Casey’s long-standing work in KIDS COUNT, our national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. Both today’s tri-national report and KIDS COUNT use a data-driven child advocacy approach to try to make a difference in the futures of our youth." One of the most striking findings of the report is that there is deterioration in child health and disparities in access to health care services across the continent. Canadians have universal access to publicly funded health care services, including physician and health services. In 2003, about 16 percent of all people in the United States and 11 percent of children under age 18 did not have any health insurance. In 2000, one-third of Mexican children under age 14 did not have access to private or public health insurance. In particular, indigenous language speakers are much less likely to have access to health services. "By addressing some of these issues now, such as health care, we are investing in our future success," says Gerardo Sauri of Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México, one of the project partners. "Will there be a healthy, well-educated and skilled workforce to drive the economy? The answer lies, of course, in today’s children." Growing Up in North America: Child Well-Being in Canada, the United States and Mexico has been published in three languages and is available at www.childreninnorthamerica.org. Information on population, migration, education, and economic data, as well as supplemental material, is also available on the website. A series of reports from the Children in North America Project Partners focusing on health, economic security, and civic engagement is scheduled for release over the next two years. The Canadian Council on Social Development is one of Canada’s key authoritative voices promoting better social and economic security for all Canadians. A national, self-supporting, membership-based organisation, the CCSD’s main product is information and its main activities research, focusing on issues such as child and family well-being, economic security, employment, poverty, and government social policies. For more information, visit www.ccsd.ca. The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organisation dedicated to helping build better futures for children in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (The Children’s Rights Network in Mexico) is the union of 58 Mexican civil organisations and networks, which develops programs to offer supports to Mexican children in vulnerable situations. To realise its mission for children and adolescents to know, exercise, and enjoy their rights, the Network promotes a social and cultural movement in favour of children’s rights, advocates for equitable legal frameworks and public policies, and strengthens the capacity of Mexican civil organisations dedicated to children. For more information, visit www.derechosinfancia.org.mx.