Monday, 25 June 2007 00:01

Children NOW Report Shows Interesting Statistics About Amador County Kids

slide8Wide disparities in children’s well-being from county to county are presented in a new report by Children Now, a leading nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that all children thrive. Released last week, the 2007 California County Data Book is an online, public resource providing the most comprehensive county-level data on children’s health, education and family economic status. It also provides county rankings for key indicators. These data illuminate the vast differences between counties that are masked by statewide figures.

Amador County received a distinction in the report. Amador, along with Alpine, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono and Tuolumne counties had some of the lowest percentages of children seeing a dentist in the state, 61 percent. The statewide average is 80%. In total, the Data Book delivers 45 indicators of children’s well-being for each of the state’s 58 counties. Additionally, it provides county rankings for 11 critical indicators and also reports county data by race/ethnicity. According to the report Amador County is home to 7,282 children, ages 0-17, which is less than 1% of California's child age population. Compared to other counties in the state, Amador is number 7 out of the state’s 58 counties in the percentage of children with health insurance.

slide13 23rd out of 58 in the percentage of children, ages 3 and 4, enrolled in preschool. The county is number 21 out of 58 in the percentage of elementary school students meeting state targets in English Language Arts. The county then falls behind at 33 out of 58 in the percentage of elementary school students meeting state targets in Math. Educationally the fall continues, according to the report, with the county ranking only 44 out of 58 counties in the percentage of high school students eligible to attend one of California's public universities. The educational data, often linked with low income households, does not seem consistent in this report which shows the county ranks number 27 out of 58 counties in the percentage of children in low-income households. For more information, visit the 2007 California County Data Book online at www.childrennow.org/databook.