8 Trends to Know About Children and Families for 2025

Slightly removed from the worst of the pandemic, we have better data on just how hard COVID-19 was on families. For example, in 2020, 6 in 10 Hispanic families with children experienced hardships meeting their basic needs. Today, many families continue to struggle with bills, food prices, medical needs, and the double whammy of high housing and child care costs.

In 2024, Child Trends researchers looked at ways to improve families’ economic stability. Topics included helping the 3.1 million undergraduate students in America who are also parents finish degrees to help them better provide for their families long term, creating workplaces that attract and engage the next generation of employees, and retooling job benefits and public assistance to support greater stability for the quarter of U.S. children who have immigrant parents.

The Child Opportunity Index 3.0 examined the 100 metropolitan areas with the most children. In those cities, 60 percent of Black children, 58 percent of Hispanic kids, and 57 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native children live in “lower opportunity neighborhoods.” Child Trends researchers are exploring how all children can grow up in communities where opportunity is abundant.

For example, we studied how Black families define a set of assets known as protective community resources (PCRs), the benefits they see from PCRs, and the risks they associate with limited access to PCRs. Our researchers also studied how communities can better support math success for Black and Latino youth with things like out-of-school time academic programs. A goal of our population-focused research is to identify ways to promote more equitable outcomes for all children by expanding access to the community resources they and their families need to thrive.

The federal government increased funding to support early care and education (ECE) by $53 billion during the pandemic, but that infusion ended in 2024. States and Tribal Nations that expanded child care subsidies and incentives for workforce growth using those funds now must look elsewhere. As local leaders continue to seek ways to support ECE access, it’s important that our path forward is informed by data—both in how we care for children and how we craft policies—and that we have tools to understand how child care subsidy policies impact families.

The cost, quality, and availability of child care weigh heavy on the minds of parents of young children and parents-to-be. There’s a worker shortage in ECE, so the National Early Care & Education Workforce Center aims to equip ECE leaders with research and technical assistance.

In addition, there has been a national decline in the number of home-based care providers, an option parents often prefer for small group sizes. Child Trends examined parents’ online reviews of child care to help states better understand the implications of this decline and offer ways to support home-based providers.

Our regularly updated state-level data on child welfare resource shows that the number of children in foster care in the United States is down 10 percent since federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018. Of the almost 400,000 in foster care in FFY2021, around one third were in kinship care arrangements with relatives or others with whom they have a close bond. In 32 states, the percentage of children in kinship care is up at least 5 percent since FFY2018—a promising trend given what research tells us about the potential benefits of kinship care, such as improved academic outcomes.

Child Trends 2024 research on child welfare highlights options for supporting kinship caregivers and an analysis of state kinship care policies. We also looked at the housing and financial needs of certain youth who are transitioning out of care and how young people in care develop their racial and ethnic identities.

A state-level examination of four policy areas (child tax credits, minimum wages, contraceptive access, and food support programs) explores how these factors may impact the prevalence of maltreatment of young children.

Data show that infant mortality in America rose 3 percent from 2021 to 2022. Abortions, which have decreased significantly over the past 30 years, also appear to be trending upward. Our maternal death rate remains double (and sometimes triple) that of most high-income countries.

While these facts are in the spotlight following changes to reproductive health laws, Child Trends regularly examines child and maternal health topics. In 2024, we looked at how states legally handle substance use during pregnancy (which is also trending upward) and patients’ desires for family planning care that is person-centered. Our Indigenous Children, Youth, and Families team summarized ways to better support Native American maternal and infant health, and another Child Trends study found that mothers who moved housing more frequently reported poorer health quality and more visits to the emergency room.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that a total of 20.5 percent of young people identify as gay or lesbian (3.2%), bisexual (12.1%), or questioning (5.2%). An additional 3.9 percent identify as “other.” This total (24.4%) is triple the percentage among the population over age 18, according to Gallup data. This discrepancy suggests that sexual education curricula developed decades ago may not be inclusive for a significant portion of young people today.

To support those who work in this area, Child Trends researchers examined ways to make sex ed more inclusive of the LGBTQ+ population. In addition, our experts continue to share adolescent sexual and reproductive health research to youth-supporting professionals via the website Activate.

Technology’s impact on mental health and youth development deservedly garners attention. In terms of cyberbullying, Pew Research data show just how widespread this modern form of peer aggression is: 46 percent of those ages 13 to 17 reported having experienced some form of cyberbullying. Research suggests that teens who experience cyberbullying are more likely to suffer anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Two important resources available on the Activate website summarize research on cyberbullying and provide a guide to identifying and supporting youth who experience sexual cyberbullying.

A Harvard survey found that 51 percent of young people ages 14 to 22 have used AI generative tools. The technology’s proliferation is ushering in a world where students need to be AI-literate learners and, eventually, AI-competent citizens. Child Trends developed the AI-Class Framework to help safely and effectively integrate AI technology into teaching and student learning. We also offered recommendations for regulating AI to minimize its risks to children and families.

As Child Trends continues exploring these and other stories, we invite you to subscribe to our e-newsletters and be the first to know when we release new data-informed work.