2011 Report Card

The 13th annual Kern County Report Card updates more than 160 data indicators on child and family well-being including: family economics, education, child/adolescent health, child safety and at-risk youth behavior. The event will also include the release of the Kern County Network for Children’s 12 Month Prevention Calendar by the KCNC Children’s Advocacy Committee.

Economic recovery from the 2007 recession continues to be slow in Kern County placing more families and their children at risk of poverty, homelessness and hunger while funding for safety-net and prevention programs at agencies and school districts is being cut.

• Median annual income of families with children in 2009 was 28% below the state and 24% less than the nation.
  
• County unemployment rate has nearly doubled from at 8.1% in 2007 to 15.9% in 2010.
  
• 1 out of every 4 Kern families with children lived below the poverty line in 2009.
  
• Between 2007 and 2009, 16,647 more Kern County children were living in poverty, a 28 percent increase.
  
• Since 2007, 20,227 more Kern households are participating in CalFresh (formerly food stamps), a 66% increase.
  
• 7 out of 10 Kern students are receiving free/reduced school meals, a 8% increase since 2007.
  
• A minimum wage earner must work 76 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental unit at Fair Market Rent in Kern County.
  Kern County is one of the youngest counties in California.

The county’s child population under 18 years made up 31 percent of its 2010 total population, the seventh largest percentage in the state. According to the 2011 Report Card, 75,076 Kern County children, or 30 percent of the child population, lived in poverty in 2009. The groups most likely to be living in poor families in Kern County include African-American and Latino children, children raised by single mothers and children under the age of 5 years. Kern’s child poverty rate was higher than the state’s 20 percent. Among the South San Joaquin Valley counties, only two counties (Merced and Tulare) had higher child poverty rates than Kern County.

“The impact of the 2007 recession continues to halt progress in many areas of child well-being,” said Tom Corson, Executive Director for KCNC. “As we move through this economic crisis, poor children and families will not recover at the same pace as those who avoided poverty during and after the recession.”

The 2011 Report Card finds:

• Over half of Kern’s children living in poverty were being raised by single mothers.
  
• 36% of Kern’s children under age five experienced poverty during their early years.
  
• In 2009, 5,219 Kern County children – 14 children each day – were victims of child abuse and neglect.
  
• Infants and African-American children suffer the highest rates of substantiated abuse and neglect in Kern County.
  
• During 2009, the percentage of Kern County babies born with a low birth weight rose to its highest point during the decade.
  
• Kern’s infant mortality rate has risen for the third consecutive year.
  
• Teacher-student ratio in school classrooms continues to rise as more teacher positions are cut.
  
• Nearly one-third of economically disadvantaged high school students dropped out of school.
  
• The rate of Kern County students graduating from high school remains lower than statewide average.

“The data included in the Report Card provide reason for both concern and encouragement,” explains Corson. “Each day, committed parents, dedicated nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and a host of effective agency programs work together as never before to ensure children’s basic needs are met and they are safe.”

• The rate of substantiated child abuse and neglect fell 9% from 2008 to 2009.
  
• Recurrence of child maltreatment rates are decreasing and fewer children are experiencing continued abuse/neglect after Kern County’s Child Protective Services is involved.
  
• Kern’s Foster youth population has been reduced by 18% since 2007.
  
• More children in Kern County’s foster care system are being reunified with their families in less than a year at increasingly higher rates that outperform the state.
  
• Fewer babies were born to teen mothers in Kern County resulting in a 8 percent decrease in teen birth rate from the previous year.
  
• More mothers in Kern County received early prenatal care.
  
• The rate of chlamydia infection declined among teen females ages 15-19 years.
  
• California Standards Test (CST) scores are increasing throughout Kern County schools.
  
• More high school graduates are prepared to attend UC/CSU universities and earning college credits through Advanced Placement courses.
  
• Majority of students are passing the high school exit exam on their first try in 10th grade.
  
• juvenile felony arrest rate fell for third straight year.
  
• Juvenile arrests for violent crimes declined 30% from 2008 to 2009.

“It is our hope that the facts and figures within the 2011 Report Card are not only informative, but also prompt more community action to improve the lives of children,” said Corson. “We invite the community to join the Kern County Network for Children and discover positive, proactive ways that they can contribute to building a strong future for our children.”

The 2011 Kern County Report Card was generously sponsored by: