Imagine the complex factors that influence a child's opportunities in life set on either side of an old-fashioned scale. The teeter-totter of each child's scale can be influenced by parents, schools, communities and, in many ways, public policies. Positive experiences and influences--a loving and nurturing caregiver, a safe and stable place to call home, or high-quality educational opportunities--are placed on one side. These factors help tip the scale in the positive direction and make it more likely that a child will thrive. Negative experiences--abuse, neglect, violence, poverty, or racism--push the scale in the negative direction. For some children, the weights on the negative side are so heavy that harder work is needed to balance them out. This year's KIDS COUNT report shows some developments that will help tip the scale toward the positive for many children: More Colorado children are covered by health insurance than at any point in recent history. Fewer children are living with the daily stresses of poverty. More children have access to full-day kindergarten and preschool programs. But for too many of Colorado's children, the odds remain weighted against them. Despite the decline in the state's child poverty rate, more than 190,000 Colorado children still lived in poverty in 2014, with 82,000 living in extreme poverty. Colorado school districts identified nearly 25,000 students who were experiencing homelessness. More than 240,000 children lived in households that were uncertain about whether they would have enough food for their families. [For the 2015 report, see ED587371.]