The Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce is probably the single most important collection point for demographic information about American life. Many of its publications were essential for the preparation of this book, including: Geographic Mobility: 2002 to 2003 (2004), Fertility of American Women: 2002 (2003), Children and Households They Live In: 2000 (2004), Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2001 (2003), Children's Living Arrangements and Characteristics: 2002 (2003), Current Population Survey, 2003 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (2003), Households, by Type: 1940 to Present (2003), Households by Size: 1960 to Present (2003), Structural and Occupancy Characteristics of Housing: 2000 (2003), Statistical Abstract of the United States 2003 (2004), Marital Status by Sex, Unmarried-Partner Households, and Grandparents as Caregivers: 2000 (2000), Marital Status of the Population 15 Years Old and Over, by Sex and Race: 1950 to Present (2003), Household Type among Foreign-Born Households by Size and by World Region of Birth of the Householder: 2003 (2003), The Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2003 (2003), America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2000 (2001), Multigenerational Households for the United States, States, and for Puerto Rico: 2000 (2000), American Housing Survey for the United States in 2003 (2003), Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003 (2004), Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2002 (2003), Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population: 2000 (2001), Housing Characteristics: 2000 (2001), 2003 American Community Survey (2003), New Residential Sales in July 2004 (2004), Interracial Married Couples: 1980 to 2002 (2004), Grandchildren Living in the Home of Their Grandparents: 1970 to Present (2004), and Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of U.S. Diversity (2000).

The different agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) produce important publications on a wide variety of statistical data. The Administration for Children and Families annual study, Child Maltreatment 2002 (2004), provided statistics about victims of child abuse and neglect. Foster Care National Statistics profiled children in foster care. The 2004 HHS Poverty Guidelines appeared in the Federal Register. The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics presented a variety of data on births to unmarried women and the status of children through its Childstats Web site and the report America's Children (2004).

Another agency of the HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provided sobering information about obesity trends in adults through CDC at a Glance (2004). Youth risk behaviors were studied in Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2003 (2004). The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is another valuable resource. The NCHS periodical National Vital Statistics Report supplied data on marriage, divorce, birth, and death trends. Additionally, some data was gleaned from Provisional Vital Statistics for the United States; Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2003 (2004). Life expectancy tables from 1900–2000 were found in the report Health, United States 2003. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of HHS, provided valuable information on driving under the influence of illegal drugs in Drugged Driving: 2002 Update (2003).

The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Educational Statistics compiled valuable information about the impact of poverty on student achievement in The Nation's Report Card 2003 (2004). Other reports, including 1.1 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2003 (2004), Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2003, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (2002), and Computer and Internet Use by Children in 2001 (2003), shed light on diverse issues relating to education.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics was also a vital source for this work. The graphics Unemployment Map 2000 and Unemployment Map 2003 (2004) offered a visual account of the rise in unemployment after the turn of the new century. Studies including the National Compensation Survey 2003 (2003), Work at Home 2001, Computer and Internet Use at Work in 2001, and Employment Characteristics of Families in 2003 (2004) provided important data about the workplace. Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2004) gave an historical perspective of women's changing roles and earnings in the workplace. The American Time Use Survey (2004) revealed how the average American uses a twenty-four-hour day.

We are also grateful for the in-depth research of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, which released the report Expenditures on Children by Families, 2003, part of an annual series that helped quantify the cost of raising a child in today's economy. The USDA's publication Family Economics and Nutrition Review offered data on the cost of food in 2004 and the agency's poverty threshold schedule. The agency's 2003–04 income eligibility guidelines for public school free and reduced-price lunch programs were published in the Federal Register.

The U.S. Department of State maintains valuable foreign adoption information in its list Immigrant Visas Issued to Orphans Coming to the U.S., Top Countries of Origin: 1989–2003. The Department of Defense report Worldwide Manpower Distribution by Geographic Area, September 30, 2003 provided perspective on locations of military families, while the 2002 Survey of Spouses of Activated National Guard and Reserve Component Members offered a window into the challenges faced by families of reservists called to active duty.

Thomson Gale is also grateful to the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse for its in-depth information and statistics on adoption and foster care in America. The National Coalition for the Homeless gathered important but alarming data on the dangers of homelessness in Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA (2003). Thomson Gale appreciates the valuable information compiled by the United States Conference of Mayors–Sodexho report Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities—A 25-City Survey (2003).

Thomson Gale thanks The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press for permission to reproduce graphics from Opinion of Homosexuals: Religious Beliefs Underpin Opposition to Homosexuality, Part 1: Opinions on Homosexuals and Part 2: Gay Marriage (2003), Two Years Later, the Fear Lingers (2003), and Abortion a More Powerful Issue for Women (2004).

Thomson Gale appreciates the permission of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) to reproduce graphics from Money and the American Family (2000). We also thank Wirthlin Worldwide for permission to reproduce material from The Wirthlin Report: Who Made Me Fat? Seeking Answers to Complex Questions (2003), The Wirthlin Report: Seeking Stability in 2003 (2003), The Wirthlin Report: America Responds, Part Three (2001), The Wirthlin Report: Workplace Issues in the 21st Century (2001), and The Wirthlin Report: Americans Rank Strengthening Families as High Priority (2000).