How it works

Most policy reports rely on data that is years old and aggregated in ways that obscure the worst gaps. 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.

01
The Index

A repeatable annual measure across three domains — basic needs, access to care, and child well-being — combining original polling, clinical data, and economic indicators.

Basic NeedsAccess to CareChild Well-Being
02
The Gap

What families say children need compared to what systems actually deliver. Reported by geography, income, race, and Appalachian community status. The gap is the accountability.

03
Voices

Community listening sessions across the country. Numbers alone are not enough. Lived experience belongs alongside the data — and it informs how the index is interpreted.

How we hold policymakers accountable

Annual Survey and Scorecard

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.

Federal Policy Tracking

Every federal action — or failure to act — is documented across all five issue areas. The tracking continues across election cycles. There is no fresh start after an inauguration.

Clinical Data

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.

Rural vs. UrbanIncomeRace & EthnicityAppalachian CommunitiesGeographyPolitical AffiliationSpecial Health Care NeedsFoster and Kinship Families
Design Principles

What makes the Same Sky Index different.

Most indices are built by researchers for researchers. Same Sky is built to be used — by families, policymakers, journalists, and funders.

Complex inputs, simple outputs

The index is designed to be understood, not just cited.

We combine survey data, clinical records, and economic indicators into a single, interpretable score per issue area per geography. The methodology is transparent; the output is usable.

No reset clause

The scorecard does not start over when administrations change.

One of the most common failures in policy accountability is the fresh-start assumption. Same Sky tracks continuously. Progress from one administration belongs to the record. Regression does too.

Equity by design

Disaggregated by the populations most often hidden in averages.

National averages obscure the worst gaps. The index explicitly disaggregates for rural communities, Appalachian counties, Black and Hispanic children, children in foster and kinship care, and children with special health care needs.

Family voice as data

What parents say they need is treated as evidence, not anecdote.

Annual polling is a core data input to the index — not a communications supplement. When families report unmet need, that is a data point. It belongs alongside clinical records and economic statistics.

First report Summer 2026. Index launches 2027.

The first national Same Sky report — with verified gap estimates across all five issue areas — publishes Summer 2026. The full Same Sky Index, with annual tracking and accountability scoring, launches in 2027.