Survey Reports Area Children Safer, Healthier

Although the numbers of teen-agers giving birth and youngsters suffering abuse are rising every year in Ventura County, children growing up here are still far safer, healthier and less likely to have babies themselves than young people in other parts of the state, a new survey shows.

The report by a children’s advocacy group shows Ventura County children scoring better than the state average in all 12 areas measured, including infant mortality rates, school-achievement tests and the number of teen-agers murdered.

“Ventura County should be proud of the fact it is doing some very positive things for its children,” said Wendy Lazarus, vice president for policy for the Oakland-based Children Now.

Ventura County was second out of 47 California counties in the availability of affordable child care.

And in the percentage of needy children who received health checkups, Ventura County placed fourth among all of the state’s 58 counties.

In addition, the number of high school students who do not graduate has declined steadily over the past four years, giving Ventura County the 15th-lowest dropout rate of 57 California counties surveyed.

Lazarus cautioned, however, that while conditions for children in Ventura County are improving in some areas, they are worsening in others.

“The indicators are going in the wrong direction,” she said.

Child abuse cases have risen steadily over the past four years, from 51.6 per 1,000 children in 1988 to 64.2 in 1991.

And the number of 15- to 19-year-olds having babies has increased from 44.8 births per 1,000 in 1988 to 55 in 1991.

In addition to having more babies, Ventura County teen-agers are also more likely now than four years ago to be murdered than to die in a car crash or by suicide.

In both the numbers of teen-age births and homicides, Ventura County--like California as a whole--is worse than the national average.

But county health officials said both increases reflect national phenomena that are not unique to this state or this county.

Similarly, Randall Feltman, director of the county’s mental health department, said the increasing frequency of child abuse can be partly attributed to the poor economy.

“The more stressed adults are that take care of children, the more likely child abuse is,” he said.

Feltman said Ventura County’s better-than-average ratings on the survey reflect both its relative affluence and its commitment to strong social services.

“We are, generally speaking, a more stable community with more single-family housing, higher average incomes,” which means children grow up healthier, better-educated and relatively safe, he said.

In addition, he said, “the effectiveness of the public agencies and the private agencies (working together in Ventura County) is kind of extraordinary.”

As an example, Feltman pointed to Casa Pacifica, an emergency shelter for abused children that is under construction in Camarillo.

Business people and individuals raised $10 million for the shelter, which will be operated by a private agency, but partly staffed by county workers.

“We have example after example of innovative programming,” Feltman said. “That doesn’t make our problems go away. But it does put us in a position better than the other counties.”

One problem not going away is the number of teen-agers giving birth, according to the survey.

But public health director Lawrence E. Dodds pointed out that 67% of the Ventura County teen-agers who had babies in 1991 were Latinas, many of whom may not view their pregnancies as a social problem, he said. “Many of the young Hispanic women are married. They have family support.”

The study also shows Ventura County as doing worse than the national average in the percentage of child support payments that go uncollected.

Only 46% of all child support orders are generating some payment, compared to a 44% average for the state and 56% in the United States, the survey says.

Stan Trom, director of the child support division for the county’s district attorney’s office, said these numbers are misleading.

In fact, Trom said, studies by state legislative analysts consistently show that Ventura County’s child support workers collect about three times more than the state average.

But the report should do more than lead county officials to pat themselves on the back, Trom and other officials said.

The survey exposed many of the hidden problems of society’s poorest and most easily forgotten children, Feltman said.

“Most of these children and their problems are invisible to my neighbors and most of the citizens in this county,” he said. The report “serves to remind the community that children have (real) problems, . . . not just unhappiness.”