ACORN's Living Wage Web Site - A brief history of the national living wage movement, background materials and links to other living wage-related sites.

ChildStats.gov - Statistics and reports on children and families, including: population and family characteristics, economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

The Future of Children - Providing research and analysis to promote effective policies and programs for children, Princeton Brookings Institute.

Index of Child Well-Being - Foundation for Child Development.

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September 21, 2006 - What raw numbers and shallow rhetoric don't tell us, The recently released poverty data paint a grim picture of life in America. Once again the U.S. Census Bureau tells us that 37 million people — one of every 12 residents — is living hand-to-mouth in the United States, Pioneer Press Editorial.

January 2006 - Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends - Between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, the incomes of the country’s highest-income families climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income families saw only modest increases in income – resulting in a deep income gap between families. On average, the incomes of the top fifth of families were more than ten times greater than the incomes of the bottom fifth. Without government programs like the earned income tax credit and food stamps, this gap would be even wider. The report includes state-by-state comparisons in addition to a national picture, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

January 2006 - Twenty State Policies to Enhance States’ Prosperity and
Create Bright Futures for America’s Children, Families and Communities, Policy Matters.

2005 - The Health and Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2005, National and state-level data focus on children's physical and mental health, health care, and general well-being as it relates to their families, schools and neighborhoods. Minnesota rated 90.4% of children in excellent or very good health compared to 84.1% at the national level. However in Minnesota, only 70.9% of children had a preventive medical visit in the past year, compared to 77.8% at the national level, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

August 2005 - The Effects of Government Taxes and Transfers on Income and Poverty: 2004 - How many Americans live in poverty? Like many things, it depends on how you measure it. Officially, the Census lists the U.S. poverty rate at 12.7 percent as of 2005 – but that doesn’t take into consideration public programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, and others. Using two different measurements, the poverty rate ranges from 8.3 percent to 19.4 percent. This report looks at how different measurements change the calculation, and notes that distribution of income is even more unequal when considering capital gains/losses, home equity, and other “market” variables than money income alone, U.S. Census Bureau.

July 2005 - Youth Indicators 2005: Trends in the Well-Being of American Youth, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

July 2005 - America's Children: Key National Indicators of Children's Well-Being 2005, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.

February 2005 - 2005 Poverty Income Guidelines, University of Minnesota Extension Service.

January 2005 - State of the Dream 2005: Disowned in the Ownership Society, United for a Fair Economy.