St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) released the 2025 KIDS COUNT® USVI Data Book, “When Data Speaks: The Voices of Our Children,” and KIDS COUNT Data Dashboard during a Virtual Community Stakeholder Presentation held on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 10:00 AM AST.
KIDS COUNT®, a national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is one of the country’s most trusted sources for tracking child and family well-being. The USVI Data Book provides the territory’s most comprehensive snapshot of how children are faring across six domains: Education, Economic Well-being, Family and Community, Health, Opportunity Youth, and Community Bright Spots.
Youth Voices Take Center Stage
This year’s publication centers ten (10) children’s lived experiences and includes direct statements, reflections, and insights from young people across the territory.
During the virtual release, SCF briefed government partners, nonprofit organizations, educators, policymakers, and community members, who also heard directly from youth contributor Yosairy Rodriguez-Sanchez, a student at Gifft Hill School on St. John, who offered a powerful firsthand account of how economic disparities shape the lives and futures of young people in the Virgin Islands. She spoke of wage gaps that push youth to leave the territory, the need for better-paying jobs and career pathways, and how poverty limits access to educational and developmental opportunities. Drawing from personal experiences—including watching a friend fall behind academically due to financial hardship—she urged leaders to raise wages, expand workforce training, and strengthen family support so young people can envision stable, meaningful futures at home.
Data Highlights and Bright Spots
Dr. Saul Santiago, Data Analyst and Principal Investigator for KIDS COUNT USVI, reported on selected data points from this year’s Data Book, including the encouraging statistics that public high school graduation rates continue to rise, reaching 81% in 2023–24, up from 70.9% just four years earlier. He noted that this progress is unfolding alongside persistent economic disparities, with community housing residents reporting incomes in St. Croix between $12,721 and $14,435, compared to $24,096–$24,315 in St. Thomas/St. John. Public housing program participation experienced changes as well, with 3,852 residents in community housing and 4,935 using Housing Choice Vouchers, highlighting a sharp increase in the number of residents receiving vouchers for housing assistance rather than living in community housing.
Dr. Santiago also underscored demographic trends, including a 50% drop in the child population from 2000 to 2020, and a steady decline in the territory’s fertility rate, which dropped from 2.11 in 2015 to 1.98 in 2023. This decline, as Dr. Santiago stated, will impact the USVI’s dependency ratio, which measures the number of elderly and children that the workforce will have to support. A diminished population will lead to fewer workers and a higher dependency ratio. Additional details on the dependency ratio and its implications are outlined in the 2025 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book.
Lived Experience: Understanding Opportunity Youth
Ms. Chermaine Hobson, KIDS COUNT Sector Liaison, shared a powerful moment illustrating the importance of naming and understanding the experiences of Opportunity Youth (young people ages 16-24 who are not in school and not working). She recounted meeting a young man working at her home who noticed the KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book on her table. After reading through the report, he told her he had never known there was a term that described his own journey—Opportunity Youth. After experiencing a disruption in his family life and living situation, he dropped out of school at age 17. Today, he is a tradesman working directly with young people facing similar challenges, using his lived experience to connect, mentor, and help guide them forward. This story highlights not only the possibility for reconnection and restoration but also the transformational potential of having role models and mentors to support the next generation.
KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard
Complementing this year’s Data Book is the free, public KIDS COUNT USVI Data Dashboard (https://www.stxfoundation.org/kids-count-dashboard/), an interactive, user-friendly online platform that was launched last year and significantly expanded in 2025. The Dashboard now includes additional indicators and metrics across all KIDS COUNT domains. In Education, users can view updated Proficient/Advanced rates for 4th and 8th grades, including a new district comparison feature. In Family & Community, indicators have been consolidated and enhanced with age-group graphics and Tableau tooltips, illustrating additional details for indicators like public housing and voucher participation. The Health domain has also been streamlined so that all indicators appear on a single page. Together, these enhancements further strengthen the Dashboard as a valuable resource for the public, including agencies, organizations, and policymakers who are seeking data-informed decision-making and new models for data sharing and collaboration.
A Call for Shared Responsibility
“As we reflect on this year’s Data Book, it is vital to recognize that solutions to the challenges facing our children and families are a shared responsibility,” said Deanna James, President and CEO of St. Croix Foundation. “By intentionally placing children’s voices at the center, we are reminded of what is at stake, and why we must work together to ensure every child in the Virgin Islands has the opportunity to thrive.”
Access the 2025 Data Book
To review a copy of the Data Book, visit the SCF website or contact the Foundation to request a hard copy:
- Website: https://stxfoundation.info/2025KidsCountDataBook
- Phone: 340-773-9898
- Email: kidscountusvi@stxfoundation.org
St. Croix Foundation extends its deepest appreciation to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs, and the HIVE Fund and acknowledges its public and civic sector Data Partners for their continued collaboration and commitment to children and families in the Virgin Islands.
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ABOUT ST. CROIX FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Established in 1990, St. Croix Foundation has served as a conduit for over 50 million dollars in funding for community-based projects throughout the Virgin Islands. With an incomparable track record of successful community development initiatives and national recognition for its work in education reform, small business development, and public-private partnerships, the Foundation has also received international acknowledgment for its community revitalization initiatives and, today, continues directing its focus on holistic community building and development, policy research and data collection, and the broad-based support of nonprofits, including fiscal sponsorship, grantmaking, and the Nonprofit Consortium.
ABOUT THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION
The Annie E. Casey Foundation creates a brighter future for the nation’s young people by developing solutions to strengthen families, build paths to economic opportunity, and transform struggling communities into safer and healthier places to live, work, and grow. For more information, visit www.aecf.org. KIDS COUNT® is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation.