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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Children

Goal: Improve the health and well-being of children.

Six young children sit in a line on the floor of a library and hug each other.

Childhood is a critical period of growth and development — and a child’s experiences, behaviors, and health problems can have long-term impacts. Healthy People 2030 focuses on ways to directly and indirectly improve children’s health, safety, and well-being. 

Making sure children get timely developmental screenings and recommended health care services is key to finding health problems early, when they’re usually easier to treat. In addition, positive health behaviors — like getting enough sleep and eating healthy — can help prevent diseases and injuries in children. But there are important racial/ethnic and income disparities in these healthy behaviors and related health outcomes.   

Safe, stable, and supportive relationships are critical for children’s health, development, and well-being. Family-level interventions can help keep children safe and healthy. Strategies focused on children’s health and safety in early childhood education programs, at school, and in their neighborhoods can also help improve health outcomes for children. 

Objective Status

  • 3 Target met or exceeded
  • 7 Improving
  • 10 Little or no detectable change
  • 16 Getting worse
  • 6 Baseline only
  • 17 Developmental
  • 6 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Children — General

Increase the proportion of children aged 3 to 5 years who get vision screening — V‑01
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of students with disabilities who are usually in regular education programs — DH‑05
Improving
Reduce the proportion of children with a parent or guardian who has served time in jail or prison — SDOH‑05
Improving
Reduce the rate of deaths in children and adolescents aged 1 to 19 years — MICH‑03
Getting worse

Adolescents

Increase the proportion of high school students who graduate in 4 years — AH‑08
Improving
Increase the proportion of trauma-informed early childcare settings and elementary and secondary schools — AH‑D01
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with symptoms of trauma who get treatment — AH‑D02
Developmental
Reduce the proportion of public schools with a serious violent incident — AH‑D03
Developmental

Child and Adolescent Development

Increase the proportion of children who receive a developmental screening — MICH‑17
Improving
Increase the proportion of children who get sufficient sleep — EMC‑03
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who communicate positively with their parents — EMC‑01
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children whose family read to them at least 4 days per week — EMC‑02
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children who are developmentally ready for school — EMC‑D01
Developmental
Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents who are suspended or expelled — EMC‑D02
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children who participate in high-quality early childhood education programs — EMC‑D03
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who show resilience to challenges and stress — EMC‑D07
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children with developmental delays who get intervention services by age 4 years — EMC‑R01
Research

Economic Stability

Increase the proportion of children living with at least 1 parent who works full time — SDOH‑03
Improving

Emergency Preparedness

Increase the proportion of parents and guardians who know the emergency or evacuation plan for their children's school — PREP‑D01
Developmental

Environmental Health

Reduce exposure to mercury in children — EH‑09
Improving

Foodborne Illness

Reduce infections caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli — FS‑02
Little or no detectable change

Health Care

Increase use of the oral health care system — OH‑08
LHI label
Target met or exceeded
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who receive care in a medical home — MICH‑19
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with special health care needs who have a system of care — MICH‑20
Getting worse

Hospital and Emergency Services

Reduce emergency department visits for medication overdoses in children under 5 years — MPS‑01
Little or no detectable change

Housing and Homes

Reduce blood lead levels in children aged 1 to 5 years — EH‑04
Baseline only

LGBT

Reduce bullying of transgender students — LGBT‑D01
Developmental

Mental Health and Mental Disorders

Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with ADHD who get appropriate treatment — EMC‑04
Little or no detectable change
Increase the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder who receive special services by age 4 years — MICH‑18
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children with mental health problems who get treatment — MHMD‑03
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get appropriate treatment for anxiety or depression — EMC‑D04
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get appropriate treatment for behavior problems — EMC‑D05
Developmental
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who get preventive mental health care in school — EMC‑D06
Developmental

Neighborhood and Built Environment

Increase the proportion of schools with policies and practices that promote health and safety — EH‑D01
Developmental

Nutrition and Healthy Eating

Increase the proportion of students participating in the School Breakfast Program — AH‑04
Getting worse
Reduce iron deficiency in children aged 1 to 2 years — NWS‑16
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of eligible students participating in the Summer Food Service Program — AH‑R03
Research

Oral Conditions

Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with active and untreated tooth decay — OH‑02
Improving
Increase the proportion of low-income youth who have a preventive dental visit — OH‑09
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who have dental sealants on 1 or more molars — OH‑10
Getting worse

Overweight and Obesity

Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with obesity — NWS‑04
LHI label
Little or no detectable change

Physical Activity

Increase the proportion of children who do enough aerobic physical activity — PA‑09
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents who play sports — PA‑12
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of children aged 2 to 5 years who get no more than 1 hour of screen time a day — PA‑13
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of child care centers where children aged 3 to 5 years do at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day — PA‑R01
Research
Increase the proportion of parents who follow AAP recommendations on limiting screen time for children aged 6 to 17 years — PA‑R02
Research

Respiratory Disease

Reduce emergency department visits for children under 5 years with asthma — RD‑02
Little or no detectable change
Reduce hospitalizations for asthma in children under 5 years — RD‑D01
Developmental

Schools

Increase the proportion of 4th-graders with reading skills at or above the proficient level — AH‑05
LHI label
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of 4th-graders with math skills at or above the proficient level — AH‑06
Getting worse
Increase the proportion of schools that don't sell less healthy foods and drinks — ECBP‑D02
Developmental
Increase the proportion of schools requiring students to take at least 2 health education courses from grade 6 to 12 — AH‑R06
Research
Increase the proportion of public schools with a counselor, social worker, and psychologist — AH‑R09
Research

Sensory or Communication Disorders

Reduce vision loss in children and adolescents — V‑03
Getting worse
Reduce ear infections in children — HOSCD‑04
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of children and adolescents with communication disorders who have seen a specialist in the past year — HOSCD‑05
Baseline only

Tobacco Use

Reduce the proportion of people who don't smoke but are exposed to secondhand smoke — TU‑19
Little or no detectable change

Vaccination

Reduce the proportion of children who get no recommended vaccines by age 2 years — IID‑02
Target met or exceeded
Maintain the vaccination coverage level of 1 dose of the MMR vaccine in children by age 2 years — IID‑03
Little or no detectable change
Maintain the vaccination coverage level of 2 doses of the MMR vaccine for children in kindergarten — IID‑04
Little or no detectable change
Increase the coverage level of 4 doses of the DTaP vaccine in children by age 2 years — IID‑06
Little or no detectable change

Violence Prevention

Reduce nonfatal child abuse and neglect — IVP‑16
Target met or exceeded
Reduce child abuse and neglect deaths — IVP‑15
Getting worse
Increase the number of states where a child fatality team reviews sudden and unexpected deaths in infants — IVP‑D02
Developmental
Reduce the number of young adults who report 3 or more adverse childhood experiences — IVP‑D03
Developmental

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