Child Welfare Study Lauds, Faults County

Ventura County’s children continue to be healthier and better educated than most of their peers statewide, but the county fares worse when it comes to juvenile crime and the amount of money it invests in students, a new study shows.

In its annual county-by-county comparison, Oakland-based Children Now ranked Ventura County above the norm in a range of categories measuring the welfare of children statewide, including prenatal care, infant mortality and preparation for college.

But despite the county’s relatively high marks, officials at Children Now caution that those findings also show that much work remains to be done to ensure a better future for all of the county’s youth.

“In the state right now, and particularly Ventura County, we have a rising tide, but we need to make sure all the boats are being lifted,” said Lois Salisbury, executive director of Children Now.

“Right now, the county has one-third of its children living in low-income homes, so the question leaders are going to have to wrestle with is how to advance more economic opportunities to their families and improve the future for the children.”

Taken as a whole, Ventura County ranks better than average in several areas surveyed by the advocacy group.

As of 1995, 97% of pregnant women in the county sought prenatal care for their unborn children, ranking the area third among California counties.

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Consequently, the county had the eighth-lowest infant mortality rate at 5.4 per 1,000 children born.

According to data compiled by the group for 1996, Ventura County ranked second in the number of children in foster care with 2.9 out of every 1,000, with an average stay of about 25 months.

The number of child-abuse incidents has fallen from 14,175 reports filed in 1994 to 12,941 in 1996, ranking the county 16th out of the state’s 58 counties.

But the county is not doing as well as it should in other areas, considering its wealth.

For example, the county’s high school dropout rate improved from 3.5% in 1995 to 2.9% in 1996, but still ranked 27th in the state. Also, only 36% of students have taken pre-college courses, the study showed.

“There has been a concerted effort between the county and communities to help our children and we’re starting to see some of the results,” said Diane Visencio, the county’s director of the Maternal Child Health Program, part of the Public Social Services Agency. “But we know about as well as anybody that there’s still a lot of work to be done to keep our kids healthy and safe.”

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The study found other problem areas, including how much the county spends per pupil, average class size and rising number of juvenile arrests.

The study placed the county 53rd in the funds it spends per pupil, with an average of only $3,993 per student annually.

Although the number of students per class has fallen slightly over the past few years, it continues to be a problem for the county, since the figures still place near the bottom of the rankings.

According to the Children Now study, Ventura County ranks 50th with an average of 27.2 students per class, down from 30.1 students in 1995.

One of the biggest problems facing local communities in regard to children, Salisbury said, is the above-average number of juvenile arrests.

In 1995, more than 7,000 county juveniles were arrested on charges ranging from theft to murder, ranking the county 37th.

Of those arrests, 12% were drug-related while 4% were for violent offenses.

Salisbury said youth crime may be the most daunting threat to the health and welfare of county children.

“In many ways these statistics, taken as a whole, are very good, but the county can’t afford to rest,” she said. “Crime is one of the areas Ventura County is going to need to look at if it’s going to improve.”

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Ventura County’s Children

A new study has found that Ventura County children fared better in health and welfare than their peers statewide, but did not do as well in the number of high school dropouts and other categories. Here is a look at some of the indicators:

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California Ventura County average County rank* EDUCATION High school dropouts 3.9% 2.9% 27 Graduates prepared for college 35% 36% 12 HEALTH Late or no prenatal care 5.2% 2.9% 3 Low birth weight infants 6.1% 5.3% 17 Infant deaths per 1,000 births 6.3 5.4 8 2-year-olds fully immunized 57.3% 61.8% 12 Births to 15- to 19-year-olds per 1,000 64 52 18 FAMILY LIFE Child-care costs (infant) $585 $624 27 Child-care costs (preschool) $407 $412 36 Unemployment rate (1997) 6.2% 5.9% 19 Children in low-income families 46% 34% 20 Foster care (per 1,000) 9.9 2.9 2 Child abuse (per 1,000) 75 63 16

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* Compares Ventura County with the state’s 57 other counties; 1=Best, 58=Worst. Note: In some categories, not all data was available for all counties.

Source: Children Now, 1997 Report (1996 statistics)