KIDS COUNT Report: State’s Poorest Cities Threaten Children’s Well-Being
Monday, April 02, 2012
Two-thirds of the state’s 37,925 children living below the poverty line come from just four cities, according to a new Factbook released today by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT.
More than 25 percent of children growing up in Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket, are living in poverty, placing them at significant disadvantage compared with children growing up in more affluent households.
The annual report breaks down improvements and declines in the well-being of children and youth across the state and in each of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns and provides the latest available statistics on 67 different aspects of children’s lives, from birth through adolescence.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Safe, healthy and well-educated children are crucial to ensuring the economic success of our state,” said Elizabeth Burke Bryant, the executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. “Today’s children will become tomorrow’s workforce and tomorrow’s parents, which is why it is important to ensure that our children are on a path to succeed.”
Poorest Children at Great Risk
Bryant said the four “core cities,” all of which are struggling financially, need to be observed closely to make sure their children do find themselves falling off-track in staggering numbers. In Central Falls 35.8 percent of children live in poverty; in Pawtucket 27.3 percent of children live in poverty; in Providence 35.6% of children live in poverty; and in Woonsocket 34.9% of children live in poverty. In 2011, the federal poverty level for a family of three with two children was $18,123.
“Children live in poverty in every Rhode Island community,” Bryant said. “However, these communities warrant special attention since more children live in poverty in these four core cities, than in the rest of Rhode Island.”
The report shows children living in those four cities are at a greater risk of facing abuse, missing school, having children as teenagers, needing government assistance and not graduating from school on time.
Higher rates of child abuse and neglect: Children in the four core cities are nearly two times more likely to experience abuse or neglect. Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket report 20.7 victims per 1,000 children while the rest of the states reports 10.6 victims per 1,000 children.
Chronic absenteeism: One in five children in grades K-3 in the core cities missed nearly a month of school (at least 18 days) while just eight percent of children from the rest of the state were chronically absent.
Teen birth rates: Of the 5,384 births to girls ages 15-19 between 2006 and 2010, 64 percent came from girls living in the four core cities.
SNAP/Food Stamps: Between October 1, 2005 and October 1, 2010, the number of Rhode Island children receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits increased by 54 percent in the four core cities. Statewide, 63,738 children receive assistance.
High school graduation rate: In Central Falls, the four-year graduation rate was 70 percent in 2011; in Pawtucket, it was 63 percent; in Providence, 66 percent; and in Woonsocket, it was 63 percent. Statewide, the graduation rate was 77 percent. According to the report, between 2008 and 2010, the unemployment rate for Rhode Islanders with high school diplomas was 9.5 percent and 13.8% for those without diplomas.
Lingering Recession Has Negative Impact
The report also found that the state’s inability to climb out of the recession continues to be damaging to Rhode Island’s children. Said Bryant, “Rhode Island has been in a lingering recession and that has negative impact of families.”
High unemployment: In 2011, 12 percent of children in Rhode Island had at least one unemployed parent. Last month, the unemployment rate increased to 11 percent, giving the state the second highest unemployment rate in the country.
Cost of loving: Over the last decade, the average cost of rent in the state increased from $748 to $1,150. In 2009, 25 percent of Rhode Island’s 162,539 working households spent more than half their income on housing costs, making Rhode Island the most “housing cost-burdened” state in New England.
Homelessness: In Rhode Island in 2011, 1,092 children in homeless families made up a quarter of the people who used emergency homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and transitional housing.
“As Rhode Islanders continue to struggle with job loss, foreclosure and a lack of affordable housing, it is more important than ever to protect support services and programs that help children and families,” Bryan said. “At the same time we need to continue to make progress in closing the achievement gap that exists at kindergarten entry and to ensure that all children receive the kind of high-quality education that will provide them with the skills they need to succeed in college, careers and life.”
Progress in Some Areas
Still, the report notes that not all news is bad for the children of Rhode Island. In fact, the state has made strides when it comes to helping the state’s poorest children, according to Joan Lombardi, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Rhode Island is one of the states leading the nation when it comes to building a strong system of support for its young children,” Lombardi will say during her keynote address this morning. “From improving quality to investing in evidence-based home visiting, and from assuring health insurance to expanding services for at-risk families, Rhode Island stands as a national model for policies and initiatives that protect children and help ensure their future success.”
Some of the improvements include:
Fewer youth held at Rhode Island Training School: 669 youth were in the care or custody of the Training School at some point during 2011, down from 821 in 2010.
Out-of-home placements: The number of children in out-of-home placement dipped by 40 percent between 2006 and 2011.
Obesity rates: 17.1 percent Rhode Island children entering kindergarten last school year was obese, down from a high of 20.3 percent six years ago.
Full-day kindergarten: This year, 64 percent of kindergarteners are enrolled in full-day programs. A decade ago, the number was just 18 percent.
Reading proficiency: The number of eight graders reading at or above proficiency jumped more than 20 percentage points between 2005 and 2011. In the core cities, 57 percent of eighth graders read at or above grade level.
Bryant said it is clear that progress is being made for the state’s children.
“The data highlighted in this year’s Factbook show that while the financial crisis, job loss and underemployment have taken a toll on families across Rhode Island, great progress is still being made,” noted Bryant. “As the economy struggles to rebound, it is especially important to continue to make the health and well-being of Rhode Island’s children, families and communities a high priority for strategic public investments and policies. Our state’s economic recovery and future prosperity depends on children and youth that have the education and skills they need to lead the way in the new economy.”
If you valued this article, please LIKE GoLocalProv.com on Facebook by clicking HERE.
