The tenth annual Kids Count data book provides information on measures of child well-being for the state of Missouri, its 114 counties, and the city of St. Louis. This statistical portrait is based on trends in 10 indicators of child well-being: (1) enrollment in free/reduced lunch; (2) births to mothers without high school diplomas; (3) low birthweight; (4) infant mortality; (5) child deaths, ages 1 to 14; (6) child abuse and neglect; (7) out-of-home placements; (8) annual high school dropouts; (9) births to teens, ages 15 to 19; and (10) violent deaths, ages 15 to 19. Following an executive summary of findings, the state profile, and the state minority profile, the data book is organized by outcome measure. The data indicate that between the base and current years there were improvements in the following indicators: births to mothers without a high school diploma, infant mortality, child deaths, annual high school dropouts, births to teens, and teen violent deaths. Measures of students receiving free/reduced price lunch, low birthweight infants, and the number of children in out-of-home placements worsened. Child abuse and neglect data were difficult to interpret. For measures where data were available for minority children, the data suggested that although minority children face higher risks than nonminority peers, the gap is narrowing on outcome measures. Two special sections are included in the data book. The first highlights school readiness and notes that approximately 25 percent of Missouri's children are not ready to enter kindergarten. The second special section focuses on public investments in children, explaining the composition of the current state budget and how spending priorities are set, describing the impact of budget cuts, discussing proposals for raising state revenues, and asserting that the state needs to develop consensus about priorities and communicate those priorities to policymakers. The data book's appendix presents information on outcome measures and data sources. A CD-ROM included with the report contains PDF files of the report, plus additional appendices with indicator raw data and county ranks for 1998-2002. (Contains 111 endnotes.) (KB)