Whenever possible, we have updated indicators with the latest available data and have included a note about when the data were last updated for each indicator.

This year's report also introduces a new indicator on School Readiness, which presents measures of school readiness for children ages 3–5, and includes a revised Any Nicotine Use indicator (formerly Regular Cigarette Smoking) that expands beyond cigarette smoking to capture any form of nicotine use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders.

Due to operational challenges and workforce reduction, Forum representatives from several agencies were unable to participate in the development of this year's report, and their usual indicators are not included: the Census Bureau (Child Population; Children as a Percentage of the Population; Racial and Ethnic Composition; Family Structure and Children's Living Arrangements; Children of at Least One Foreign-Born Parent; Child Poverty and Income Distribution; and Supplemental Poverty Measure), the National Center for Education Statistics (Child Care; Family Reading to Young Children; Mathematics and Reading Achievement; High School Academic Coursetaking; High School Completion; and College Enrollment), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Adolescent Depression), and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (Diet Quality). However, these indicators are archived in past reports on the Forum's website (https://www.childstats.gov). Note that the numbering of figures and tables has therefore been updated in this year's report.

Unless otherwise noted by respective agencies, this report uses sex rather than gender in data references, per Executive Order 14168.

The data in this report may be impacted by irregular data collection and lower rates of health care access in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.