A study using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) found that nearly half of American children and 90% of black kids will be on food stamps at some point. See the Associated Press story.

Source: Rank, M.R., & Hirschl, T.A. (2009). Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 163(11):994-999.

New versions of all data in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) Children and Young Adults collection have been updated in SodaPop. These files were released on Jan. 18, 2009.

The September 2009 supplement to Journal of Adolescent Health is themed Adolescent Obesity: Towards Evidence-Based Policy and Environmental Solutions, and is available for free on the journal’s web site.

In 1 out of 6 counties in the US, minority kids outnumber white kids, and their numbers will continue to grow, according to a USA Today story. Reporter Haya El Nasser interviews demographers Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter about the trend.

According to new federal data, the US birth rate increased, and teen births increased for the first time since 1991 (USA Today).

Citation: Martin, J.A., et al. (2008). Births: Final data for 2006. National Vital Statistics Reports, 57(7). Available online (PDF)

The number of working poor families in the US increased between 2002 and 2006, according to a new report from the Working Poor Families Project. The report, Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short, includes state-level data and maps.

State- and city-level data on birth outcomes is now available from 2008 The Right Start for America’s Newborns in the KIDS COUNT Data Center. The entire data set is available for download as a delimited file.

The CDS of the PSID has publicly released the “Transition into Adulthood” Data. The data are comprised of 745 of the CDS children who have reached the age of 18+ and have
graduated from high school. Topical questions include: health and emotional well-being, time use, community involvement, self identity and perception, expectations for the future, family, peer, and romantic relationships, work, schooling, and more. Please read the overview (PDF file) of the Transition into Adulthood (TA) data. PRI researchers may request this data from the Data Archivist.

Living Arrangements of Children: 2004 (PDF) is the latest report in the Household Economic Studies series of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Reports (P70-114). It uses SIPP data to examine the variety of living arrangements of US children.

Growing up poor alters brain development, and new research presented at the annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Science could help ameliorate the effects of poverty on academic achievement, according to a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (Note: The Chronicle article is available online to subscribers. PRI affiliates can read the Chronicle in the PRI Library or request online access from library@pop.psu.edu.)

Citation: Farah, M.J., Betancourt, L., Shera, D.M., et al. (in press). Environmental Stimulation, Parental Nurturance and Cognitive Development in Humans. Developmental Science. (available online)