The infant mortality rate, preterm birth rate and adolescent birth rate all continued to decline from 2009 to 2010, according to the federal government’s annual statistical report on the wellbeing of the nation’s children and youth.

Among other positive trends in the report, average mathematics scores increased for fourth- and eighth-grade students and the violent crime victimization rate among youth fell, as did the percentage of young children living in a home where someone smoked.

However, the percentage of children living in poverty increased, and the percentage of children with at least one parent employed full time, year-round decreased.

These and other findings are described in "America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2012." The report was compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, a working group of 22 federal agencies that produce and use data on issues related to children and families. The report uses the most recently available and reliable official federal statistics to describe the family and social environment, economic circumstances, healthcare, physical environment and safety, behavior, education and health of America’s children and youth.

"This year’s report contains good news about newborns," Alan E. Guttmacher, MD, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a news release. "Fewer infants were born preterm and fewer died in the first year of life."

Infants born preterm or of low birth weight are at high risk of early death and long-term health and developmental problems, the authors noted.

The Forum alternates publishing a detailed report, "America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being," with a summary version that highlights selected indicators. This year, the Forum is publishing "America’s Children in Brief"; it will publish the more detailed report in 2013.

The 2012 report is available online at http://childstats.gov/americaschildren/index.asp.