Knowing there is a direct correlation between child well-being and thriving communities, United Way of Greater Atlanta has been laser-focused on improving child well-being scores across the Greater Atlanta region. To gain the biggest improvements in child well-being, the organization is using a combination of data, analytics and insights from their hundreds of community partners to drive resources directly to programs and communities where positive change will have the biggest impact on the child well-being score for the entire region. The interactive maps on United Way’s website show how children, families and communities are faring by zip code. Since the launch of the Child Well-Being Movement in 2017, great progress has been made through a collaborative effort of partner agencies, civic leaders and volunteers.

Progress: 2016-2018

In this 2-year period, the total child well-being score for the region has increased from 58.9 to 61.8, with Clayton and Dekalb counties seeing the greatest improvement. Some highlights:

Child well-being has improved across many zip codes: The number of zip codes with very low child well-being scores dropped from 12 percent to 7.5 percent

The percentage of children in low and very low child well-being score areas has decreased from 36.5 percent to 30.9 percent. That means child well-being has improved for 82,484 children.

8th grade math "proficiency" has increased by 13.5 points.

High school graduation rates increased from 74 percent to 80.3 percent. 

There has been a reduction in children without health insurance of more than 10 percent

The Power of Partnerships

United Way has partnered with numerous organizations around the region to drive these results. At the annual State of the Children Breakfast, which reports on the progress of child well-being, eight organizations and individuals were recognized for their involvement in the movement. Among those honored were Benjamin E. Banneker High School, the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement, AT&T, King & Spalding, The Kellogg Foundation and McKinsey & Co. Additionally, over 60 nonprofit partners were recognized at the breakfast.

Through these partnerships, the quality of life for children in the Greater Atlanta area is improving. United Way believes that continuing to pursue the current strategy of collaborative efforts and data-driven investing will continue to improve child well-being scores across the Greater Atlanta region.

“No one organization or individual solves complex issues alone. It takes a community of people working with a shared purpose to drive real change. We are very appreciative of our partners and excited to report the progress that has been made in the community as a result of these collaborations,” says Milton J. Little, CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta. “Our goal is to continue to build on this momentum and improve the lives of 250,000 children in the Atlanta area by 2027.”