Report Identifies Threats to Local Families

Homelessness, substance abuse and obesity are among the biggest threats to children and families in Ventura County, according to a new report.

The report was released this week by Community Commission for Ventura County, a group of 26 educators, city and county officials and representatives of community-based nonprofits.

Commissioners decided this year to put together a “snapshot” of Ventura County to use as a baseline in identifying current and emerging issues, the report says.

“It provided a basis for us to begin to identify those challenges which are really most essential to help our children and families,” said board member Claudia Harrison, executive director of First Five Ventura County, which helps distribute funds from the state tobacco tax.

The county has made strides in reducing teenage pregnancies and increasing prenatal care and immunization, the report says, and its high school dropout rates have been consistently lower than the state average since 1991.

Crime problems also are considerably less than in larger areas, such as nearby Los Angeles, the report says, although it points out that the county received only a B-minus letter grade for youth violence prevention in one statewide study.

The particular challenges highlighted this year were homelessness, substance abuse and obesity, which aren’t decreasing as quickly as officials would like.

“The report showed us areas where we’re not seeing good trend lines,” Harrison said. “It really is a call to action.”

Homelessness, the report says, is not necessarily caused by joblessness. Among the report’s findings:

* Only 16.4% of entry-level jobs in Ventura County pay $34,000 or more annually.

* The county ranks 173rd out of 191 metropolitan areas for housing affordability nationwide.

* The median home price in the county rose from $170,400 in 1995 to about $355,600 in 2002, an increase of more than 105%.

* The average rent for a two-bedroom residence is now $1,300 a month. A person earning the minimum wage of $6.75 an hour would have to work 113 to 120 hours a week to afford that.

* In 2001, only 35% of Ventura County households could afford the median-priced home.

Substance abuse is often underreported, the commission noted, adding that additional data should be sought. However, the report said that:

* Juvenile arrests for drug offenses in the county in 2001 were three times higher than the rate of arrests for alcohol offenses: 829 drug arrests to 237 alcohol arrests.

* Drug and alcohol offenses comprised the greatest number of criminal incidents in public schools during the 2000/01 school year: 694 offenses, compared with 420 property crimes.

The report cites obesity as the third challenge facing children and families. Among its findings:

* In 2001, 21.2% of low-income children in the county ages 5 to 19 were overweight.

* Approximately 16% of adults 18 and older in the county are considered obese.

The report, Harrison said, accomplished what it set out to do.

Now, she said, the commission will begin “to develop strategies for what’s not being addressed.”