Most indicators in America's Children are tabulated by race and ethnicity. Unless otherwise noted, the data sources used in this report have implemented the standards for reporting race and ethnicity statistics issued in 1997 by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB; https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1997-10-30/pdf/97-28653.pdf).

Many indicators in this report also include data tabulated by poverty status. All poverty-status calculations in this report are based on OMB's Statistical Policy Directive 14, the official poverty measurement standard for the United States. A family is living below the poverty level if its before-tax cash income is below a defined level called the poverty threshold. Poverty thresholds are updated annually and vary based on family size and composition.