Partnership for Children issued its first Report Card on the Status of Greater Kansas City's Children and Youth in 1992. Every fall, the Report Card summarizes the well-being of children and youth in Greater Kansas City, and encourages community actions to improve children's lives.

These benchmarks, as well as the grading system, were developed for the first Report Card are analyzed to determine:

• Whether the situation in metropolitan Kansas City was improving, stabilizing, or getting worse, based on the past three years of data
  
  
• Whether the situation in metropolitan Kansas City was better, the same as, or worse than the national or state average

When the first Report Card was released in 1992, the well-being of children in Greater Kansas City an overall grade of "D" was given. In our 14th Report Card, released on September 20th, 2005, the overall grade was a "C."

Of course, as a community which cares for its children, Greater Kansas City should not be satisfied until the overall grade for children's well-being reaches an "A" and stays there. When we reach that milestone, we will know that the metro area is truly a great place to be a child.