Children Are Socially and Emotionally
Supported
Children and youth need the
support and love of the adults throughout their childhood and
adolescence to grow, learn, and become responsible members of society.
Parents’ involvement in the development of their children should begin
early. It is an encouraging sign that 89% of Yolo County
residents reported reading to their children, which indicates a high
level of awareness in the community of children’s need for cognitive
stimulation and social interaction.
Unfortunately, many parents aren’t always able to be there for their
children. Twenty-five percent of parents report that their
children, ages 4-11, have to take care of themselves for more than 30
minutes on a regular basis. This may be related to a lack of available
or affordable childcare. Children who are left alone to take care
of themselves are at risk of engaging in unsafe behaviors, such as
crime, substance use, and truancy.
Children who take care of themselves after school are also
statistically more likely to become teen parents. And parents who
have children at a very young age often fail to complete their
education, putting themselves and their children at risk for
poverty. Yolo County, however, has a much lower teen birth rate
than the state as a whole; in 2000 only 28 teens out of a thousand had
a baby. It is important to note that the teen birth rate has been
falling since 1994. The percent of babies born to mothers with
less than 12 years of education also is lower in Yolo County as
compared to the state average.
Support for children within their homes is especially important and
provides the foundation on which to develop self-esteem and the ability
to engage in healthy relationships involving love, respect, and
trust. While most parents are able to provide that environment
for their children, sometimes children and youth must be removed from
their homes for their own safety. The number of child
maltreatment referrals in Yolo County is consistently higher than the
statewide average; in 2002 there were 76 referrals per 1,000 children
in Yolo County, compared to 57 per 1,000 across the state. While
entering the foster care system is sometimes the only option to protect
children, it can also be a stressful and traumatic experience.
Most children in Yolo County foster care return home within 11 months.
Yolo County parents reading to their
children
Why is this important?
Reading to children at
very
young ages has been shown to increase cognitive development and help
prepare children to learn and read when they enter elementary
school. Parental involvement in early education is an important
key to later academic success for students.
How is Yolo County doing?
Most Yolo County parents
report
reading to their children. According to the UCLA Health Interview
Survey, 89% of Yolo County residents reported reading to their
children, compared to the statewide average of 85%.
The high percent of
parents
who have reported reading to their children is an encouraging indicator
of community awareness of this issue. Parents who read to their
children are also more likely to stimulate and nurture their
development in other ways, which promotes the academic success of
children and youth. Community leaders should continue to
encourage parents to read to their children.
Yolo County is served
by the
seven branches of the Yolo County Library, and the Woodland Public
Library. Many Yolo County children hold library cards, 94%
compared to a state average of 78%. Per capita circulation of
children’s materials from public libraries in Yolo County is 8 per
child from the Woodland Public Library, and 9 per child from the Yolo
County Library, slightly lower than 12 materials circulated per child
statewide. |
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Children taking care of themselves
Why is this important?
Children who spend time
unsupervised are more likely to engage in unsafe or unhealthy
activities. The
proportion of children who have
to take care of themselves may be an indicator of a lack of available
or affordable childcare in the county.
How is Yolo County doing?
Around one quarter of children over
the age of four in Yolo County are reported to have to take care of
themselves for more than a half an hour on a regular basis. This
number is slightly higher than the statewide average.
In the ‘Children’s Basic Economic Needs Are Met’ section you can find
data on both the percentage of children who must take care of
themselves, and data on the cost and availability of child care in Yolo
County.
Abused and neglected children
 Why
is this important?
Ensuring the safety and
stability of children in their homes is a top concern for Yolo County
Child Welfare Services. Alleged child abuse or neglect referrals
must be investigated and confirmed before an instance becomes a
substantiated case of child maltreatment. While abuse affects
children across all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, risk
factors include poverty, presence of siblings or previous children not
living with a biological parent, domestic violence between the parents,
parental substance abuse and mental illness. Child abuse has
long-term effects on both the individual and the community; children
who have been abused grow up more likely to suffer from depression and
substance abuse, and are more likely to abuse children of their own,
perpetuating the cycle of violence.
How is Yolo County doing?
The most common types of child
abuse are general neglect and physical abuse, which have the highest rates of
referrals and substantiated instances. The rate of substantiated
cases of child maltreatment is related to both the ability of county
services to investigate alleged child abuse, and the real incidence of
abuse in the community. Yolo County has a higher rate of child
maltreatment referrals, and generally a higher rate of substantiated
cases of child maltreatment than the state average.
Children in foster care
 Why
is this important?
The foster care system exists to
provide children with a safe home if their parents or families are no
longer able to provide one. Whenever possible when a case is open
in child welfare, children are maintained within their own homes.
With the best interests of the child in mind, the primary goal of the
foster care system is to return a child to his or her family, or to
place the child with relatives. The stress and trauma of being removed
from their homes can mean that children in foster care are less likely
to do well in school, and are more likely to need special services and
resources. Length of stay in foster care may indicate the
effectiveness of the Child Welfare Services in reuniting
families. Generally, length of stay is longer with kin placement
because the connection between child and foster parents is greater.
How is Yolo County doing?
When children are first referred to
Child Welfare Services, suspected abuse or neglect is
investigated. These cases are known as ‘Emergency Response’
cases. Some children are able to remain in their homes (‘Family
Maintenance’) but others are removed, enter foster care and then they
and their families receive services aimed toward eventual ‘Family
Reunification.’ If those efforts fail, social workers find
permanent placements for children, either through adoption,
guardianship or emancipation (‘Permanency Planning’). Yolo County
has a higher number of Emergency Response cases than the state average,
which reflects more new cases, and Yolo County’s high rate of child
abuse or maltreatment referrals. (see ‘Abused and neglected
children.’) However, Yolo County has near average levels of
family maintenance and family reunification, as well as low levels of
children in need of permanent placement. Thus, Yolo County is
doing as well as, or better than Child Welfare Services departments
across the state.
Most children who enter the foster care system in Yolo County exit
within 11 months, 72% over the past three years versus 59% across the
state. Nearly all have exited the system by the end of two
years. The average length of stay in Yolo County is much lower
than the state average.
Teen birth rate
Why is this important?
Teen pregnancies have long-term
health and socioeconomic effects on the individuals and the
community. Teen mothers and their infants are susceptible to
health risks, which for the infant usually stem from low birth
weight. Teen mothers are at a higher risk to have anemia,
premature labor and high blood pressure. Teen mothers are more
likely to be single parents, and less likely to finish their education,
which puts them at an economic disadvantage for years to come.
The children of teen parents are also more likely to receive inadequate
parenting, and have problems in school.
How is Yolo County doing?
Yolo County’s teen birth rate has
been consistently lower than the state average. In 2000 it was 28
teens out of a thousand, as compared to 41 pregnant teens out of a
thousand statewide. In 2003 there were less than five births to
mothers under the age of 15 in Yolo County.
While Woodland has the highest number of babies born to teen mothers
each year, 103 in 2001, West Sacramento has a slightly higher rate of
teen mothers.
Access to contraceptives, after school activities, better sex education
and parental involvement in teen’s lives have all been shown to reduce
the rates of teen births.
Babies born to mothers with less than 12
years of education
Why is this important?
Children born to mothers with
low levels of education are less likely to have access to health care,
less likely to receive prenatal healthcare, more likely to live in
poverty and less likely to do well in school. Children of parents
with low levels of education are more likely to become teen parents.
How is Yolo County doing?
Fewer babies in Yolo County are
born to mothers with less than 12 years of education than across the
state, and rates for both Yolo County and the State have been slowly
improving.
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