BACKGROUND

Representatives from the Canadian Council on Social Development, Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en México (Children’s Rights Network in Mexico), and the Annie E. Casey Foundation have come together to create the Children in North America Project based on our shared interest in the well-being of all children.

The partners met at an international learning exchange on data-based advocacy convened in 2002 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We recognized that Canada, Mexico, and the United States share common bonds and challenges in assuring the well-being of our children, not just because of geography, but also because of increasing economic, social, and cultural interaction.

Knowing that data can be a powerful tool to raise awareness and lead to action that benefits children and strengthens families, we began to explore ways to work together. With help fromthe Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, we began to develop the first-ever tri-national project on child well-being. All three nations monitor child and youth well-being in a variety of ways, but most of the work that is being done has a national focus. This project widens the lens.

Our goal is to create a social and economic portrait of North America’s children, highlighting different dimensions of child well-being against the backdrop of the changing environments in which children and families are living.

Drawing on a variety of national and international sources, the project seeks: to document how children are faring in each country and across North America; to develop a baseline against which to measure and monitor their well-being over time; and to build capacity in and across the three nations to continue the important work of measuring and monitoring the well-being of children.

There are enormous differences in the opportunities children have both within and across countries. These differences have important implications both for their current well-being and the extent to which they are equipped or prepared for the future. Our objective is to create awareness of the continent’s children, the groups that are prospering and those that are struggling to carve out a place in the world.