Annual surveys of parents and children since 2019. The finding is the same in every state, every year: parents agree on what children need far more than our politics suggest.
Every study was conducted by our team — first at Vanderbilt, now at the Emory Center for Child Health Policy.
Food, mental health, safety, access to care. The same themes, year after year. Support held across race, income, region, and political affiliation.
We fielded a nationally representative survey as COVID-19 emerged. Findings were cited in the U.S. Surgeon General's 2021 Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health.
Pediatrics · 2020A nationally representative voter survey confirmed what state polling showed. Majorities across party, geography, income, and race support federal action on children's health.
Annual polling in Georgia since joining the Emory Center for Child Health Policy. In Atlanta and rural counties alike, the findings are consistent.
Nationally representative, with an intentional oversample of Appalachian communities. Fielded with university partners at WVU and the University of Kentucky. Analysis by geography, income, race, education, and political affiliation. Community listening sessions running simultaneously across the country. First national report: Summer 2026.
All polling was conducted by our team — first at Vanderbilt, now at the Emory Center for Child Health Policy, Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. See press coverage →
Parents know what their children need. The data confirm it at scale. But knowing what families need and measuring whether systems are actually delivering it are two different things.
For every issue, Same Sky asks: what do families say they need — and what are systems actually providing? The distance between those two numbers is a claim on policymakers.
The gap is largest in rural communities and for children without a consistent advocate — children in foster care, children with special health care needs.
Most reports rely on data that is years old. Same Sky adds real-time family voice, links it to clinical and economic data, and asks whether systems are actually delivering. That connection is where accountability begins. The first national report publishes Summer 2026. The Same Sky Index — with full annual tracking — launches in 2027.
A repeatable annual measure across three domains — basic needs, access to care, and child well-being — combining original polling, clinical data, and economic indicators.
What families say children need compared to what systems actually deliver. Reported by geography, income, race, and Appalachian community status.
Community listening sessions across the country. Numbers alone are not enough. Lived experience belongs alongside the data.
Every year we survey families and publish results publicly. When policy is not moving in the direction families demand, we say so. The scorecard does not reset between administrations.
Every federal action — or failure to act — is documented across all five issue areas. The tracking continues across election cycles.
Electronic health record data from a large national network tracks mental health treatment rates, preventive care, and birth outcomes — connecting policy to measurable impact on children's lives.
Parents agree on what children need. The agenda should reflect it.