Children - Research and Data from KFF

KFF/Washington Post Poll Looks at Parents’ Trust in Children’s Health Content on Social Media, And Unfounded Claims About Abortion Pill Safety Follow FDA Approval of Generic Version – The Monitor

Oct 23, 2025

Feature

This volume shares findings from the KFF/The Washington Post Survey of Parents about exposure to and trust in children’s health content on social media, along with misleading claims following the approval of a generic version of mifepristone, reports of autism possibly being added to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and patients using AI chatbots to interpret lab results.

How Schools Have Responded to the Youth Fentanyl Crisis

Oct 28, 2025

Issue Brief

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths due to drug overdose among adolescents more than doubled, primarily driven by the synthetic opioid, fentanyl.

Measles Vaccines and Misinformation in the Courts: A Snapshot From the KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll

Mar 14, 2024

Feature

The latest KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll examines misinformation related to the measles vaccine and the public’s views of the U.S. government and social media companies’ role in moderating false claims online.

Examining New Medicaid Resources to Expand School-Based Behavioral Health Services

Apr 23, 2024

Issue Brief

In light of worsening mental health among youth, strategies have been implemented to improve access to behavioral health services in recent years, including expanding school-based care for students. Leveraging Medicaid to improve and address gaps in school-based behavioral health services has been a key strategy in recent years as youth mental health concerns have grown. Provisions from the Safer Communities Act of 2022 utilize Medicaid to expand both school-based health care and other mechanisms of youth behavioral health care. This issue brief explores the implementation of these provisions from the Safer Communities Act thus far, with a focus on the guidance issued from CMS.

Obesity Rates Among Children: A Closer Look at Implications for Children Covered by Medicaid

Aug 17, 2023

Issue Brief

This brief examines the share of children with obesity, how obesity screening and treatment is covered under Medicaid for children, and what recent changes may mean for Medicaid programs and enrollees in the future.

The Next Stage of COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-Out in United States: Children Under 12

Jul 30, 2021

Policy Watch

Analysis of characteristics of children under 12 in the U.S. to help inform COVID-19 vaccination efforts when they become eligible.

Children Head Back to School Amid an Ongoing Pandemic That Has Had Significant Effects on Their Health and Well-Being

Aug 13, 2021

News Release

As students head back to in-person school this fall, a new KFF brief highlights the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the health and well-being of children, including missed routine vaccinations and preventive care, mental health challenges and economic setbacks that can influence health.

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: The Impact Of The Coronavirus Pandemic On The Wellbeing Of Parents And Children

Aug 19, 2021

Poll Finding

This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of parents and children. It finds that more than one-third of parents say their child fell behind academically or in their social and emotional development as a result of the pandemic. This report also examines the mental health and wellbeing of parents whose household experienced an employment disruption due to childcare needs and of children who attended school at least partially online.

Four in Ten Parents of School-Aged Children Say a Child Fell Behind Academically Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aug 19, 2021

News Release

Four in Ten Parents Say Someone in Their Household Left a Job or Worked Fewer Hours to Care for Their Children, Including Higher Shares of Black, Hispanic, and Lower-income Parents As a result of the pandemic, about four in ten (39%) parents of school-aged children (ages 5-17) say at least one of their children fell…

Parents Report More Negative Pandemic Effects on Kids Who Attend School Virtually vs. In-Person

Aug 20, 2021

From Drew Altman

In his latest Axios column, Drew Altman shows that parents feel that children have fared better during COVID attending school in-person than virtually in terms of academic performance and their mental health and wellbeing.

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