The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is pleased to present Child Health USA 2005, the 16th annual report on the health status and service needs of America’s children. To assess the Bureau’s progress toward achieving its vision for a nation where all individuals enjoy equal access to quality health care in a supportive, culturally competent family and community setting, the MCHB has compiled this book of secondary data for more than 50 health and health care indicators. It provides both graphical and textual summaries of data and addresses long-term trends where applicable.

All of the data discussed on these pages came from the same sources as the information in the graphs (unless otherwise noted). Data are presented for the target populations of Title V funding: infants, children, adolescents, children with special health care needs, and women of childbearing age. In addition to population characteristics, this book also addresses health status and health services utilization. Child Health USA 2005 also provides insight into the Nation’s progress toward the goals set out in the MCHB’s strategic plan—to assure quality of care, to eliminate barriers and health disparities, and to improve the health infrastructure and system.

Child Health USA provides the most current data available for public health professionals and other individuals in the private and public sectors. The succinct format is intended to facilitate the use of the information as a snapshot of measures of children’s health in the United States.