Methodology
A number you cannot trace is a number you cannot use in front of a funder. Here is how every figure on this card is collected, labeled, and kept honest.
Every metric carries four things
- 01The statistic — stated the way the source states it, not rounded or reframed for effect.
- 02Its vintage and geography — the year the data describes and the area it covers. Some public data is older than you expect; we show the date rather than hide it.
- 03A live link to the original source — every card links to the public document or dashboard the number came from.
- 04A review date — when we last checked the metric against its source.
Data sources
This list is generated from the scorecard data itself — it is exactly the set of organizations cited on the dashboard, nothing more:
- American School Counselor Association
- CHNA
- DataUSA / Census Bureau
- Feeding America
- Pierce County
- Pierce County, Washington
- ProPublica / CRDC
- TPCHD
- TPCHD / Healthy Youth Survey
- Tacoma Public Schools
- Tacoma Public Schools / The News Tribune
- WA Dept of Health
- WA Healthy Youth Survey
- WSIPP
Status indicators
Each metric is assigned one of four statuses based on recent trends and benchmarks. The status is a judgment call, and we would rather make it visibly than pretend the data speaks for itself.
Critical
A significant negative trend or crisis level that requires immediate community attention — a sharp rise in youth homelessness, a persistent disparity.
Concern
A worrying trend or a metric underperforming its benchmark. Not yet a crisis, but an area that needs targeted support to prevent decline.
Improving
Positive momentum. The data indicates recent efforts are working, though there may still be distance to the benchmark.
On Track
Meeting or exceeding goals and benchmarks — a result worth studying and replicating elsewhere.
The County Status Index
The index on the dashboard is a summary of this card's status calls — not a measurement of children. We publish the entire formula, because a composite number without visible arithmetic is exactly the kind of statistic this card exists to replace:
- On Track = 100 • Improving = 67 • Concern = 33 • Critical = 0
- Category score = average of its metrics
- County Status Index = average of the six category scores
Categories are weighted equally so a category with many metrics cannot dominate one with few. The index is versioned to the data edition: adding, removing, or re-scoring a metric changes it, and the change is logged. The countywide target is defined the same transparent way — the index recomputed as if every Critical metric improved to Concern.
The Playbook tier
Playbook entries are drafted with AI from each metric's cited sources and linked evidence, then reviewed by a person before publishing. Every entry carries its review date. Nothing on this site is generated live: the same reviewed text is served to every visitor, and intervention directions link to the national or state evidence behind them.
Playbook entries deliberately stop short of naming local partner organizations — recommending a specific local partner responsibly requires verification we do per deployment, not per web page.
How current is this?
The dashboard shows the July 2026 edition. Metrics are re-checked against their sources quarterly. Between reviews, each card's vintage and review date tell you exactly how fresh its figure is — a 2016 foster-care rate is labeled 2016, not implied to be current.
If you have newer or better data than what we show, contact us. A submitted correction is reviewed against its source before it ships; we do not publish unverified numbers.