Report Card update 2001

The Status of Children in Sonoma County

Families Economically Self-Sufficient

Sustainable Incomes

Low- and moderate-income workers in Sonoma County dedicate on average between 22% and 74% of their income for rent, based upon current wage and rental figures. Federal guidelines suggest that no more than 33% of income should be spent on rent.

Free and Reduced Price School Lunches

The number of students in Sonoma County receiving free- and reduced-price school lunches remained stable at 26%. In some schools, as much as 83% of the student body qualify for these programs.

Child Support

In Sonoma County, the total dollars collected for current child support due in District Attorney-managed cases increased from an average of 48% in FY 1997/98 to 52% in 2000.

Families with Access to Child Care

Child Care Quality

This information will be available for update in fall 2001, when the Sonoma County Child Care Planning Council completes its updated needs assessment.

Child Care Affordability

Information available in fall 2001.

Child Care Availability

Information available in fall 2001.

Children Succeeding in School

Per-pupil Spending

Sonoma County fared poorly in per-pupil spending in the last two years. The number of school districts (of the 10 largest in S.C.) spending more per-pupil than the State average fell from 7 in 1996/97 to 3 in 1997/98.

Average Class Size

Average class size remained relatively stable from 1997/98 to 1998/99 at 25.9 students and continues to be lower than the State average of 26.7.

Standardized Testing

Test scores improved overall for 4th graders, compared to the national average. 9th grade scores fell slightly in some areas, but stayed at or above the national average.

Dropout and Graduation Rates

Sonoma County's drop-out rate showed significant improvement. The rate fell from 3.1 per 100 students in 1997/98 to 2.4 per 100 students in 1998/99. Unfortunately, the number of students who graduated decreased. In 1998/99 82% received a diploma, where as in the prior year 84% graduated.

Families Healthy and Strong

Prenatal Care

The percentage of women receiving timely prenatal care remained relatively stable-going from 86% in 1997 to 85% in 1998-and exceeded the state-wide average of 81%.

Teen Births

Fewer Sonoma County teens gave birth in 1998 (34.1 per 1,000 live births) compared to 1997 (37.7 per 1,000).

Childhood Immunizations

The percentage of children who are fully immunized by their 2nd birthday is up slightly to 68.8% (2000) for the Bay Area region.

Access to Healthcare

Data are not adequate to assess the healthcare status of children. Nearly 18,000 Sonoma County children are signed up for Medi-Cal and/or Healthy Families insurances; however, not all eligible children are enrolled due to a variety of barriers.

Children Safe and Protected

Child Abuse

The number of reported incidents of child abuse decreased from 1998 to 1999 by approximately 1,400. In 1999, there were 4,039 confirmed allegations of abuse in Sonoma County.

Domestic Violence

The number of children who were present during a felony domestic violence arrest increased dramatically in one year. The Sheriff's Department reported 565 children in 1999, compared to 284 children present during arrest in 1998. Sheriff's officials are unable to ascertain the reason for this dramatic increase.

Foster Care

Data that are relevant to determining child well-being in foster care are still unavailable.

Injuries and Deaths

There were slightly fewer injuries in 1988, that sent 466 children (under 20 years of age) to the emergency room. Twenty-seven deaths were reported in 1998 for children under 20, in 1997, 32 deaths were reported for this age group.

Youth Choosing Healthy Behaviors

Drug and Alcohol Use

The rate of drug and alcohol incidents on or near school campuses by Sonoma County's students remained flat (6.4 per 1,000 students in both 97/98 and 98/99), and is still higher than California's rate of 3.9.

Youth Crime

Both felony and misdemeanor juvenile arrest rates decreased from 1997 to 1999. The felony arrest rate dropped from 21 to 16 per 1,000 youth and the misdemeanor rate dropped from 58 to 52 per 1,000 youth.