# KIDS COUNT Child Welfare Data Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper`) Actor Extracts child well-being indicator data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Center. Covers hundreds of indicators across all 50 US states and national level, multiple years. Fields: indicator name, location, year, data format, and numeric value. - **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle\_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community) - **Categories:** Business, Other - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 61.5% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per event This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## KIDS COUNT Child Welfare Data Scraper Extract child well-being indicator data from the [Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Center](https://datacenter.aecf.org). Every state, hundreds of indicators, going back decades. KIDS COUNT is the canonical US child-wellbeing benchmark — cited by state agencies, foundations, journalists, and researchers. The database covers indicators like child poverty, children in foster care, single-parent families, and teen birth rates across all 50 states, DC, and the national level. No login required. No paywall. ### What You Get Each record is one value for one indicator, one location, and one year. | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `indicator_id` | Numeric indicator ID (e.g. 106 = Children in single-parent families) | | `indicator_name` | Full indicator name | | `location` | Location name (United States, Alabama, etc.) | | `location_type` | `national` or `state` | | `year` | Data year | | `data_format` | `Number` or `Percent` | | `value` | Numeric value | | `value_display` | Formatted display string (e.g. `34%` or `20,748,000`) | | `data_source` | Source citation from KIDS COUNT | | `table_url` | URL of the indicator table page | ### Input | Parameter | Type | Default | Description | |-----------|------|---------|-------------| | `indicatorIds` | string[] | *(all)* | Specific indicator IDs to scrape. Leave empty for all 4,000+ indicators from the sitemap. | | `locationTypes` | string[] | `["national", "state"]` | Which location types to include: `national`, `state`, or both. | | `maxItems` | integer | 15 | Maximum number of records to collect. | #### Example inputs Scrape all years for the single-parent families indicator across all US states: ```json { "indicatorIds": ["106"], "locationTypes": ["national", "state"], "maxItems": 1000 } ```` Scrape the top five child welfare indicators: ```json { "indicatorIds": ["106", "12", "7", "8", "9"], "locationTypes": ["state"], "maxItems": 5000 } ``` Leave `indicatorIds` empty to crawl the full database. With ~4,000 indicators x ~52 locations x ~25 years of data, that is a lot of records. ### How It Works The site has a JSON API endpoint (`/api/reports/detailedtable`) that is not protected by Cloudflare. The scraper: 1. Reads the sitemap to enumerate all indicator URLs (4,000+), or uses the `indicatorIds` you provide. 2. Fetches each indicator's HTML page to extract available time-frames and data sources. 3. Calls the API with all state IDs in a single batch request per indicator to get the full location x year matrix. 4. Parses the returned HTML table and saves each data point as a flat record. No proxy needed. The API responds cleanly to datacenter requests. ### Use Cases - **Child welfare research** — track foster care rates, child poverty, and family stability across states and years. - **Policy analysis** — benchmark a state against national averages or compare regions. - **Journalism** — pull the data behind the KIDS COUNT Data Book in machine-readable form. - **Grant reporting** — support program evaluation against KIDS COUNT baseline indicators. - **Data science** — train models on child well-being trends using a clean, authoritative dataset. ### Notes - The `rawdata.axd` download endpoint is Cloudflare-protected and is not used. This scraper reads the same data through the undocumented JSON API instead. - Some indicators have county-level sub-state data; the `location_type` field is set to `state` for all loct=2 API responses regardless of geographic granularity. - Values labeled `N.A.` (not available) or `S` (suppressed for small sample size) are skipped. - Data for some indicators only covers a subset of US states. # Actor input Schema ## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`): Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler. ## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`): Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements. ## `sp_contact` (type: `string`): Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you. ## `indicatorIds` (type: `array`): List of KIDS COUNT indicator IDs to scrape (e.g. \[106, 12, 5678]). Leave empty to scrape all indicators from the sitemap. ## `locationTypes` (type: `array`): Location types to include: "national" (United States), "state" (all 50 states + DC), or both. Defaults to \["national", "state"]. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of data records to collect across all indicators and locations. ## Actor input object example ```json { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "indicatorIds": [ "106" ], "locationTypes": [ "national", "state" ], "maxItems": 15 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "indicatorIds": [ "106" ], "locationTypes": [ "national", "state" ], "maxItems": 15 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "indicatorIds": ["106"], "locationTypes": [ "national", "state", ], "maxItems": 15, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...", "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...", "sp_contact": "Share your email here...", "indicatorIds": [ "106" ], "locationTypes": [ "national", "state" ], "maxItems": 15 }' | apify call jungle_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=jungle_synthesizer/aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "KIDS COUNT Child Welfare Data Scraper", "description": "Extracts child well-being indicator data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Center. Covers hundreds of indicators across all 50 US states and national level, multiple years. Fields: indicator name, location, year, data format, and numeric value.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "F2VTEZSsQ2sARCThf" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-jungle_synthesizer-aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-jungle_synthesizer-aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/jungle_synthesizer~aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-jungle_synthesizer-aecf-kids-count-child-welfare-data-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "sp_intended_usage": { "title": "What is the intended usage of this data?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Please describe how you plan to use the data extracted by this crawler." }, "sp_improvement_suggestions": { "title": "How can we improve this crawler for you?", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements." }, "sp_contact": { "title": "Contact Email", "minLength": 1, "type": "string", "description": "Provide your email address so we can get in touch with you." }, "indicatorIds": { "title": "Indicator IDs", "type": "array", "description": "List of KIDS COUNT indicator IDs to scrape (e.g. [106, 12, 5678]). Leave empty to scrape all indicators from the sitemap.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "locationTypes": { "title": "Location Types", "type": "array", "description": "Location types to include: \"national\" (United States), \"state\" (all 50 states + DC), or both. Defaults to [\"national\", \"state\"].", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of data records to collect across all indicators and locations.", "default": 15 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```