Annual report on O.C. children sees pluses, minuses

An annual report on the health of Orange County’s children showed substantial progress in health insurance access and a reduction in child poverty but raised other issues related to lagging English and math skills, rising suicide and depression rates and school absenteeism.

For the past three years, the annual county report has focused on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but now, according to the 29th edition, “The next crucial step is to assess the longer-term impacts and the underlying inequities that were exposed.”

The report this year “reflects positive improvements in health insurance access, early prenatal care and a reduction in child poverty and high school dropout rates,” according to the report. “The percentage of Orange County high school graduates considered ready for college increased as well.”

But the report also showed a 4.3% decrease in third-graders meeting standards for English Language, arts and math since 2019. The report also notes a 12.1% increase in chronic school absenteeism from 2021 to 2022, and an 8.5% increase in the percentage of 11th-graders “experiencing depression-related feelings, with students who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual being over 1.5 times more likely to experience these feelings.”

Also, suicide is “now the leading cause of death” for 10- to 14-year-olds, according to the report.

“That makes you sick to see that,” Orange County Board Chairman Don Wagner said. “We’re making resources available to anyone suffering mental illnesses. The problem is kids are too young to know, so we have to make sure parents know what’s available.”

Wagner said he believes the county is “making headway, I hope, in removing the stigma of mental health. There are resources. Please, dear God, don’t be afraid to use them.”

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said, “The earliest years of a child’s life sets the foundation for the rest of their lives. ... The Annual Conditions of Children Report shows that a bright future begins with a healthy pregnancy. My office funded grants for MOMS Orange County and the Hoag Foundation’s Women’s Health initiative to ensure the health and wellness of mothers during pregnancy and of children during their early years. It’s so important, especially for policymakers, that we all understand what is needed for children in Orange County to thrive, be healthy and live up to their potential.”

The county has developed an “innovative” way to address issues related to inequity to accessing services, the report said. The Orange County Health Care Agency received a $22.8-million grant to cover COVID-19-related health disparities, according to the report.

The county used the money to develop a “community- and data-driven approach to prioritize three areas to address disparities: Housing is Health, Health and Healing and Food as Medicine,” according to the report.

Another program the report highlighted was Wellness on Wheels, a collaboration of organizations that “uses two vans that make weekly trips to Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Laguna Hills, Orange and Santa Ana as well as regular health and wellness fairs in the community,” according to the report.

“The mobile clinic’s goal is to serve as a welcoming ‘front door’ to services,” the report said. “All are welcome, regardless of income, insurance or legal status.”

Wagner said, “I don’t know if there’s anything in particular we have to ‘Oh, my gosh, do this or that or the other thing,’ but there are tweaks we can do to specific things that we can do. It’s good to have these reports to keep an eye on things.”

Wagner said some of the problems with students struggling to meet standards for English and math may have much to do with the remote learning due to the pandemic.

“Since the public schools weren’t open people looked for other ways to educate their children, and some are sticking with some of those ways, [so] you see a decline in public school attendance,” he said.