Indiana Youth Institute, Girl Scouts of Indiana, and the Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana Release 2026 Indiana Girl Report: Helping Girls Thrive Through Connection and Opportunity

The annual report provides a statewide overview of the well-being of Indiana girls and highlights the relationships and opportunities that help them thrive

Indianapolis, IN – Indiana Youth Institute (IYI), in partnership with the Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana and Girl Scouts of Indiana, announces the release of the 2026 Indiana Girl Report. The report highlights data about the experiences, relationships, and opportunities that contribute to positive outcomes for girls while also highlighting areas where additional resources are needed.

“Across Indiana, girls are demonstrating resilience, leadership, and potential,” said Tami Silverman, President and CEO of IYI. “The 2026 Indiana Girl Report reminds us that girls thrive when they have opportunities to build skills, develop meaningful connections, and participate in experiences that support their growth and well-being.”

IYI has served as Indiana’s KIDS COUNT® affiliate for more than 30 years. Now in its fourth year, the 2026 Indiana Girl Report examines the factors shaping girls’ well-being, including education, mental health, social connection, safety, and economic stability. The findings highlight both strengths and persistent challenges facing Indiana girls.

Academic Success Remains a Major Strength

• Indiana girls consistently outperform their male peers in many educational outcomes, including school readiness (75.1% compared to 56.7%), third grade reading proficiency (88.8% compared to 86.0%), college enrollment immediately after high school (58.1% compared to 45.2%), and college completion within six years (70% compared to 66%).
• In 2025, Indiana’s female graduation rate reached 93.2%, the highest rate recorded in the past decade.
• With a 19-percentage-point gap in broader STEM enrollment, girls remain underrepresented in many pathways connected to Indiana’s fastest-growing and highest-paying careers, such as manufacturing technology, biochemistry, and biophysics.

Emotional Wellness Reflects Strong Supports Amid Mental Health Concerns

• Indiana girls benefit from important protective factors, including strong peer relationships, supportive communities, and positive developmental relationships. In 2024, 89.6% of girls had a trusted adult mentor outside their immediate family, and 60.3% lived in a supportive neighborhood, both above national averages.
• One in four caregivers reported their daughter was concerned about her body weight, shape, or size.
• Girls access mental health treatment at higher rates than boys, yet 52% of caregivers reported difficulty finding mental health treatment or counseling for their child.

Social Wellness Highlights Engagement and Safety Concerns

• More than four in five Indiana girls (81.7%) participate in an organized activity outside of school that provides opportunities for connection, leadership, and personal development, above the rate for boys (53.3%).
• Safety concerns remain significant. In 2023, 20.3% of female high school students reported experiencing sexual violence in the past year, nearly three times the rate of male peers (7.6%), while 15.7% reported sexual dating violence.
• Several long-term trends continue to improve, including declining teen birth rates and lower substance use, such as alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes, since 2020.

Connection Matters

The 2026 Indiana Girl Report reinforces the importance of supportive relationships, trusted adults, meaningful opportunities, and a sense of belonging. The findings align with Indiana Youth Institute’s FIVE by 50™ vision to strengthen the web of relationships surrounding every young person in Indiana and demonstrate that girls are more likely to thrive when they are connected to strong relationships, meaningful opportunities, and communities where they experience belonging.

Organizations like Girl Scouts play an important role in creating these connections. Through trained volunteers, proven youth development practices, and a strong organizational framework, Girl Scouts helps girls build confidence, develop skills, and expand their network of supportive relationships. The report reinforces an important lesson from the youth-serving field: connection does not happen by accident. It is built through intentional investment in organizations, programs, and people who support young people.

The Indiana Girl Report includes girl-specific data sourced from IYI’s Indiana KIDS COUNT® Data Book and other relevant datasets, along with multi-year trends and recommendations to help improve outcomes for girls across Indiana.

Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana was founded and inspired by the six Girl Scout councils serving Indiana and is committed to using data to lead conversations, inform programs, and improve the lives of girls throughout the state.

A full copy of the report can be found at iyi.org or girlcoalitionindiana.org/report.

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About Indiana Youth Institute

Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) has worked to improve the lives of all Indiana children by strengthening and connecting the people, organizations, and communities that are focused on kids and youth since 1988. IYI provides critical data, capacity-building resources, and innovative training for youth-serving organizations and professionals throughout Indiana. IYI has been Indiana’s state partner in the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT® network for more than 30 years. IYI has been the Indiana state partner in the Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT® network for over 30 years. Annually, IYI produces the Indiana KIDS COUNT® Data Book, one of 53 state- and territory level projects designed to provide a detailed picture of child well-being.

About Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana

Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana (the Coalition) is a statewide, girl-focused, social innovation initiative. It was founded and inspired by the six Girl Scout councils serving Indiana to create space for dreaming, ideating, testing, and developing new ways to serve all girls, especially those living in low-income communities.  Through this initiative, the Coalition works on behalf of the Girl Scout councils across Indiana to deeply embed in communities, learn more about the needs of girls and families in 20 specific counties, and create innovative ideas that remove barriers for girls to access beneficial and impactful experiences. This work seeks to enable every girl in Indiana to live her best life physically, academically, emotionally, and socially.  Additionally, the Coalition is conducting, sharing, and acting on annual research of the state of all Indiana girls to lead a collaborative, multi-organizational approach to ensuring the wellbeing of girls is prioritized in Indiana.

About Girl Scouts

At Girl Scouts, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together. Experiences are designed so girls of all backgrounds and abilities embrace their true selves, discover their strengths and new skills, and rise to meet new challenges. Supported by dedicated adult volunteers, mentors, supporters, and a robust network of alumnae, Girl Scouts provides safe spaces where every girl can be unapologetically herself, find adventure and give back to community. By fostering an environment of inclusion and empowerment, and backed by insightful research, Girl Scouts encourages every girl to grow, learn, and lead, and in doing so, has shaped generations of confident, capable, and compassionate women committed to making a positive impact on the world.

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE) is the foundation of the program. It is a model designed to help girls develop into leaders through meaningful, girl-centered activities. Girls achieve five core outcomes: a strong sense of self, positive values, a willingness to seek out challenges, the ability to form and maintain healthy relationships, and a commitment to community problem-solving. These outcomes are achieved through three key program processes:

• Girl-led experiences that empower girls to take ownership of their journey
• Learning by doing to promote active hands-on engagement
• Cooperative learning that builds collaboration and shared success

Together, these outcomes and processes reflect the benefits of Girl Scouting and how it equips girls with lifelong skills, confidence, and a sense of purpose.

About the Indiana Girl Report

The 2026 Indiana Girl Report is an overview of the well-being of Indiana girls statewide. A partnership between the Girl Scouts Coalition of Indiana, Girl Scouts, and Indiana Youth Institute, the Indiana Girl Report aims to understand girls’ realities and the variances across regions. The Indiana Girl Report includes: girl specific data sourced from IYI’s Indiana KIDS COUNT® Data Book and other relevant data sets; girl-specific data by sub-groups inclusive of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, age, mental and physical ability, and other characteristics when available; girl-specific multi-year trends related to emotional health indicators, physical health indicators, academic performance, and social wellness; data-driven actions for parents, youth service providers, and policymakers to improve support and overall conditions for Indiana girls.