When it comes to child well-being, Atlanta is failing. United Way created the Child-Well Being Index, composed of child, family and community measures, to track the progress and effectiveness of the Child Well-Being Movement. These scores, reflected in interactive maps and organized by zip code, illustrate the significant disparity across the region.

Fueling a Movement

The Movement has an overarching goal of improving the well-being of 250,000 children and raising the overall child well-being score from 58.9 to 68.9 by 2027. Data shows that investing in areas of lowest child-well-being results in the biggest improvements to the overall score. As a result, United Way is investing in the areas with the lowest scores.

“The social and economic costs of not addressing these issues are staggering,” says Madelyn Adams, Director of Community Benefits at Kaiser Permanente and member of both the Child Well-Being Steering Group and Community Engagement Council.  “With a renewed focus on the areas of greatest need, together, we can make a collective impact on our community.”

Outcome-Based Investments

More than $87 million – annual funds raised from generous donors over the past year – will be invested in the community, most of it through agencies that have shown a measured impact on Child Well-Being against a new set of criteria that prioritizes a proven ability to meet needs in the areas of lowest child well-being, marked as “red” on the maps. 

For the first time in four years, United Way accepted new applicants to its investment process and more than 40 new agencies in the Greater Atlanta area will receive support.

“To truly have an impact on the Greater Atlanta community, we must address the needs where they exist today. To do so, we have expanded our partnerships and programs with organizations who share the common agenda of the Child Well-Being Movement,” says Stephen Scherger, EVP and Chief Financial Officer at Graphic Packaging International and United Way of Greater Atlanta Board Chair. “These new partners join a roster of proven and trusted United Way partners capable of actively addressing the needs of children and families in our great community."

“No one can create large scale, lasting changes alone,” explains Milton J. Little, Jr., CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta. “To change the futures of 250,000 children within ten years will require more than just our efforts and those of our partners. We need leaders in the civic community to come together in the Child Well-Being movement. The stakes are high. If our kids don’t reach their potential, neither will we as a region.”