This book covers several dimensions of the undercount of young children in the U.S. Decennial Census, examines the data from the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census in detail and looks at trends in the undercount of children over time. Other aspects included are the geographic distribution of the net undercount and an exploration for some of the potential explanations for the high net undercount of children. The number of young children in the US is growing, but almost one million young children (under age 5) were missed in the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census. The net undercount of young children has been higher than any other age group for the past several decades and is increasing rapidly, but little attention has been paid to the issue but demographers or the public.

This book locates, organizes and summarizes information about the use of child indicators in an advocacy context. It provides a conceptual framework that allows readers to see a wide variety of work as part of a unified field. It provides a description of key concepts and illustrates these concepts by offering many examples from a range of countries and a wide variety of applications. It covers work from governments, non-governmental organization and academics. It describes such aspects as the use of data to educate and increase public awareness, as well as to monitor, set goals and evaluate programs serving children. A growing number of organizations and people are focusing on measuring and monitoring the well-being of children and these child well-being data are often employed in ways that go beyond what is typically considered scholarship. Many of these applications involve some type of advocacy activity. Yet, there is very little in the literature about the use of child indicators in an advocacy context. This book provides a framework for scholars in a variety of disciplines that will help them to structure their thinking about the use of such indicators in a public context.