St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) is pleased to announce the release of the territory’s annual publication, the 2024 KIDS COUNT® USVI Data Spotlight, “Answering the Call: We are the System and the Solution,” on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024, at 10:00 AM AST. During the Virtual Community Stakeholder Presentation (via Zoom), the Foundation will also unveil the U.S. Virgin Islands’ first online KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard.
A national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), KIDS COUNT® has evolved into one of the largest, long-standing data repositories in the United States focused on the status of children and families. Comprising nonprofits, foundations, and consortia from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, KIDS COUNT is considered vital to providing critical data about child well-being for many federal, state, and local government agencies.
Expanding the scope of its KIDS COUNT USVI Initiative this year, St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Team is excited to release a data package that includes: (1) an abridged data book honing in on a targeted youth population, and (2) an online Data Dashboard, which will provide community stakeholders with real-time access to an interactive data tool comprising selected current KIDS COUNT data.
During the virtual presentation on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024, SCF’s KIDS COUNT USVI Team will provide an overview of the two data products to Government Partners, Nonprofit Civic Organizations, Policymakers, and Community Stakeholders. The first data product, an abridged 2024 USVI Data Spotlight entitled “Answering the Call: We are the System and the Solution,” centers on an older youth population termed “Opportunity Youth” who are between the ages of 16 to 24 years old. Shining a spotlight on this vulnerable yet vital population, the 2024 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Spotlight is a special report on the conditions of our local opportunity youth that contains data from the most current available sources (including government agencies and nonprofit organizations) throughout the territory. It also highlights critical gaps in local data that present persistent challenges for building a clarified profile of our most at-risk youth populations.
SCF encourages all community members to attend the virtual release including parents, educators, nonprofit organizations, policymakers, and public administrators – all of whom are likely to find the information in this year’s Data Spotlight particularly useful to identify and understand the challenges facing the VI’s opportunity youth population. Through the release of this year’s data package, SCF also seeks to spark ideation around creative and collaborative solutions.
St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Team is also excited to unveil a brand new KIDS COUNT USVI Data Product, in the form of an online Data Dashboard. Complementing and building upon the Foundation’s annual data publications, the KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard will provide local stakeholders with interactive ways of working with data that will enable end-users to access and view data on child welfare and development. Utilizing a simple, user-friendly graphic interface, the Data Dashboard will display key data points and metrics in standard KIDS COUNT domains (Family & Community, Economic Well-being, Education, and Health) as well as an additional section on “Community Bright Spots.” Laurie Blake, SCF’s KIDS COUNT USVI Data Researcher and Designer, also offered that, “The data dashboard is an online repository – an all-in-one package consolidating selected public data the KIDS COUNT USVI team has received to date. While this dashboard is focused specifically on data points relevant to the KIDS COUNT USVI Initiative, it is an opportunity for other agencies to not only use the data across diverse sectors but also to use it as a model for their own data sharing.”
According to President and CEO of St. Croix Foundation, Deanna James, “With the release of this year’s KIDS COUNT USVI data products, the Foundation continues to demonstrate our commitment to moving the needle on child well-being in the USVI. Our KIDS COUNT USVI Team is also committed to challenging ourselves to expand and evolve our approach to data collection, data presentation, and advocacy. We urge all community stakeholders- parents, educators, and civic partners to take time out of their busy schedules to attend this important convening.”
Since St. Croix Foundation’s stewardship of KIDS COUNT® began in 2020, the Organization has remained steadfast in its position that while the Territory’s children are facing seemingly intractable challenges, our Community has an inalienable obligation to protect them and to provide every opportunity for them to thrive. According to Foundation President James, “There’s too much at stake, and our territory is simply too small to not get this right.”
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Interested parties should register for the Virtual Presentation at: https://stxfoundation.info/2024KCRegistration. There is no cost to attend.
An electronic copy of the 2024 Data Spotlight will be distributed to all registered participants during the virtual release presentation, and physical copies will be available to interested parties post-release. Access links will also be provided to the new KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard. For additional information or questions about the 2024 KIDS COUNT USVI release, please contact jlawrence@stxfoundation.org.
St. Croix Foundation extends its deepest appreciation to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and to its many local and national partners who support this work including the Office of the Governor, the HIVE Fund, Seven Seas Water Group, and GAM Software. Special acknowledgment also goes to the Foundation’s public and civic sector Data Partners for their collaboration and commitment to children and families in the Virgin Islands. Questions about the KIDS COUNT USVI Initiative should be directed to President Deanna James of St. Croix Foundation at 340.773.9898 or DJames@stxfoundation.org.